Air quality monitoring in schools: what the rules require

Why indoor air quality monitoring appears in school construction and renovation specifications, and which rules are behind it.

In short

The EU buildings directive (2024/1275, Article 13) requires indoor air quality monitoring devices in new zero-emission non-residential buildings and, where feasible, at major renovations.
Several countries go further for schools. Romania's green schools methodology requires a sensor network in all occupied rooms; the Netherlands requires CO₂ monitors in classrooms.
Green school and renovation programmes funded through the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility carry these requirements into tender specifications.

Directive (EU) 2024/1275, Article 13

The recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive makes indoor environmental quality part of building performance:

Member States shall require non-residential zero-emission buildings to be equipped with measuring and control devices for the monitoring and regulation of indoor air quality. In existing non-residential buildings, the installation of such devices shall be required, where technically and economically feasible, when a building undergoes a major renovation.

Member States had to transpose the directive by 29 May 2026. Schools are non-residential buildings, so new school buildings and major school renovations fall under this requirement.

Romania: green schools methodology

The Romanian green schools methodology (Ministerial Order 4147/2022) lists, among the operating requirements for a green school:

Art. 27(b): a centralised system for monitoring air quality and thermal comfort in all occupied rooms and at building level, through sensor networks.

It also calls for comparative air quality monitoring across schools with a real-time online platform (art. 23(d)), kits for measuring pollutants (art. 28(h)) and noise mitigation (art. 30(d)). School renovations funded under Romania's recovery plan to reach green school status follow this methodology, so the monitoring network is written into the tender documents.

Netherlands: CO₂ monitors in classrooms

In 2022 the Dutch government announced that CO₂ monitors would become mandatory in all classrooms from the following school year. New and renovated primary schools were already required to have them.

What it means for contractors and designers

Find the monitoring equipment section in the specification and list the required parameters.
Choose the configuration: one outdoor station per building and stations in the occupied rooms.
Attach the technical datasheets with the compliance table to your offer.
At handover, provide the declaration of conformity, certificates and the commissioning record, with the data live on the school dashboard.

This summary is for orientation and is not legal advice. Check the current national rules for your project.

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