Evaluation of thermal comfort in elderly care centres (ECC)

Abstract

The demand for elderly care centres (ECCs) is increasing as the population ages. This paper presents a field investigation on the thermal comfort of elderly in ECC and compares the outputs of existing thermal comfort standards with perceived thermal comfort of the elderly occupants of the building. Indoor and outdoor conditions were measured along the year and in different zones of an ECC (bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms). A questionnaire survey to the residents was used to gather the occupants’ thermal satisfaction. The findings indicate that standards based on adaptive models to evaluate the thermal comfort in elderly people are more precise than those based on the predicted mean vote (PMV). Results also highlight that this group prefers higher temperatures than the rest of the population. The findings also suggest that the time of the day and if the space is air conditioned do also influence thermal comfort in ECCs. These results can help standardise thermal comfort of elderly people.