How schools in Bulgaria improve children’s health through Helium

School environment is changing at an extremely rapid pace these days. New technologies are coming in all the time, improving the learning process and student’s creativity. But creating the best school environment isn’t just about the learning process. It also has various aspects related to health, concentration and improving thought processes in adolescents.

One aspect of growing importance nowadays is how school management take care of children’s health while they are in the classroom. This also has a lot of different aspects, among which is the quality of the air students breathe. An effective solution to this problem has been found by schools in Bulgaria – a small country in the European Union. Local schools are

using the Helium Network to improve children’s health.

Being a decentralized, blockchain – based network that allows low-power wireless IoT devices to communicate with each other – Helium has a lot of benefits for educational institutions. They rely on this wireless IoT ready infrastructure to improve the environment in the classrooms, using wireless sensors that measure the air quality, temperature, humidity and brightness.

The IoT sensors send the data to a cloud platform, where it’s analyzed and visualized. Teachers and principals can monitor the indicators in real time and take measures to improve the learning conditions. For example, if the air is dusty or stuffy, they can ventilate the room or clean the air conditioner filters. If the temperature is too low or high, they can adjust the heating or cooling. If the brightness is insufficient, they can turn on more lights or use more efficient bulbs.

Challenges

The polluted air in the classrooms can worsen the health of the respiratory system, such as allergies and asthma, which are common diseases affecting millions of children around the world. These problems can disrupt concentration, learning and enjoyment of school life for children. Therefore, it is important to improve the quality of air in the classrooms, by ensuring adequate ventilation, filtering and regulating temperature and humidity. This can help reduce exposure of children to allergens, pollutants and microbes that can cause or worsen respiratory diseases.

The ultimate goal is to increase the comfort and well-being of children in schools. Studies show that the quality of air and light have a significant impact on health, concentration, memory and mood of students. By using Helium, the educational institutions can collect and process data about the environment faster, cheaper and more reliably than other solutions. This helps them optimize their resources and improve the quality of education.

Solutions

One way to improve the quality of air in the classrooms is to purify it regularly from various pollutants, such as dust, mold, pollen and others. But this is not enough if other indicators are not monitored, such as humidity and temperature in a given room.

If these indicators are too high or low, this can lead to reduced oxygen levels, growth of microorganisms or dryness of mucous membranes. To avoid these problems, it is necessary to measure and control the levels of pollutants, humidity and temperature in real time and take action when needed. For this purpose, special sensors are used that monitor all these indicators and alert when necessary. In this way, the quality of air can be regulated so that the environment we live, learn and work in is optimal.

The initiative

“Do you know what you breathe?” is a social campaign, started in Bulgarian schools, that deals with the problem of air quality in indoor spaces where students spend most of their time. The campaign aims to inform and mobilize people and institutions to improve the air quality and protect the health of children. It is mainly directed towards the school environment, which is of great importance for children’s development.

To achieve its goals, the campaign uses modern technology – the Helium based MerryIoT sensors, which monitor the levels of various pollutants, humidity and temperature in indoor spaces and provide feedback through a mobile app or a web platform. The campaign is supported by Heliummart.com as well as Qnectd, a Bulgarian company that specializes in smart solutions for air quality.

Advantages

Compared to traditional wireless networks, Helium is a cheaper and more accessible network for IoT devices, as it does not require expensive contracts with operators or complex infrastructure. Moreover, it is faster and more reliable, as it uses blockchain technology for verification and security of transactions. Last but not least – the LoRaWAN protocol for communication allows devices to send and receive data over long distances with very low energy consumption.