Abstract
Nursing homes are designed and operated to meet general thermal specifications outlined by existing standards. This paper presents adaptive thermal comfort models for nursing homes based on the field survey administered in 100 common rooms of five nursing homes in the Mediterranean climate. The survey included simultaneous measurements of outdoor and indoor environmental parameters and an assessment of the occupants’ thermal comfort sensations using questionnaires. In total, 1,921 subjective questionnaires were obtained. The analysis focused on: Building Operation Mode (naturally ventilated and air-conditioned mode (cooling and heating)); and type of occupant (residents and non-residents (caregivers and therapists)). In naturally ventilated rooms residents were found to be more adaptive than what EN and ASHRAE 55:2020 standards propose (Tc (naturally ventilated) = 0.26 Trm + 18.83 (R2 = 0.81)). Residents in air-conditioned rooms were found to be less sensitive to outdoor conditions (Tc (air-conditioned) = 0.16Trm + 20.41 (R2 = 0,91)) than in naturally ventilated rooms. Both adaptive thermal models fall in limits set by these standards but in the lower acceptable levels. These adaptive thermal comfort models for nursing homes will allow extending the use of natural ventilation and the adoption of setpoint temperatures when air-conditioning is needed with the consequent reduction of heating and cooling use.
Highlights
The current Covid-19 virus which is impacting massively in elderly people has manifested the deficiencies of existing nursing homes
- This study demonstrated that residents have a lower thermal sensitivity than non-residents
For naturally ventilated rooms the neutral temperature for residents was found to be 22.7 °C, higher than the obtained for non-residents (21.8 °C) indicating that elderly prefer higher indoor temperatures
Summary
The current Covid-19 virus which is impacting massively in elderly people has manifested the deficiencies of existing nursing homes. Existing stock of buildings occupied by elderly should be revised while regulations for indoor conditions must be updated to focus on health and wellbeing of their occupants. Considering that older people spend 80% of their time indoors, their health and comfort is significantly influenced by indoor thermal environment [123]. Thermal comfort and HVAC design are important issues in nursing homes, existing stock of. The heat-balanced predicted mean vote (PMV) is the most commonly used model to evaluate if a thermal environment is acceptable [4]. The ISO 7730 [5], ASHRAE 55:2020 [6], EN 15251:2007[7] and EN 16798:2019 [8] standards which determine the comfort conditions for the majority of indoor occupants, adopt the PMV model.
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