The Importance Of Temperature In A Hospital

Hospitals are institutions for the care of the sick and injured and usually function 24 hours per day, all year round. They usually consist of large buildings, and careful control of their internal climate is considered necessary. Substantial amount of heat is normally generated internally by the occupants and operating equipment. An effective cooling (and heating depending upon the external weather conditions.) and ventilation systems combined with good insulation of hospital building, usually reduce hospital’s sensitivity to the outside weather. Hospitals also require standby electricity generators to ensure a continuous supply of power in emergencies and critical operations. The typical hospital building is designed for long-term use and, in

For this reason sunshades and blinds should be fitted to the affected windows. Maximum utilization of daylight is best provided by having sun shades and blinds automatically controlled by sensors triggered by sunshine and wind, but manual controls should always be available for individual adjustment. Hospitals also usually have a substantial number of windowless rooms, in which daylight is, of course, not a practical solution. In these cases, artificial lighting, which is energy efficient, must be employed to maintain comfort levels.

Temperature

To maintain comfort levels for patients, a typical temperature for patients’ rooms and recovery rooms is 24-26°C during summer months. This value could be maintained at 21-23°C during the colder part of the year.

Energy Efficiency in Hospitals - Best Practice Guide 11

When temperature discomfort is identified, it is usually more efficient to localize the sources of discomfort and treat these, rather than to increase or decrease the room temperature. This can be done, for example, by covering cold walls, erecting screens against cold drafts from windows, window frames and badly positioned air vents, and minimizing isolation by installing