TECHNICAL FOCUS
HEALTHY BUILDING, HEALTHY PATIENTS: THE IMPORTANCE OF THERMAL COMFORT STANDARDS Healthcare facilities around the world have been thrown into the spotlight like never before during the recent pandemic, and the pressure on hospitals to provide a safer and more hygienic environment has increased tenfold. Here, Luciana Kola from Uponor, discusses the role of thermal comfort in creating a healthier environment for patients. person produces a T hebaseaverage production rate of around 60W of heat on average whilst sleeping, which increases with the more activity we do. For example, when doing normal office work, we generate around 140W, with this increasing to around 250W for physical activity. Therefore, we need to balance out our heat production with
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heat loss in order to be comfortable and feel physically well. We lose heat from our body in four ways: by evaporation, radiation, convection or conduction. To achieve thermal comfort, we must be in thermal balance with our surroundings, meaning that we equal the loss of heat from our bodies with the rate that we produce heat.
Thermal comfort is particularly important in places such as healthcare facilities as it reduces the risk of people developing further illnesses, such as respiratory problems, dehydration or hyperthermia. The temperature, humidity, air circulation and air quality of a building are but a few factors that determine thermal comfort within a facility and it is crucial that these are considered during the initial design stages of any building which will be providing healthcare services.
Top of the agenda So, how should healthcare facilities be designed to create the most thermallycomfortable environment possible for patients? During the early design stages, operative temperature, humidity and fresh air supply rate should be discussed in order to specify the optimum comfort solution for a facility. Other aspects that must be considered at this stage include seasonal temperature changes, conditions in different-sized spaces and rooms, and whether a building is naturally ventilated or uses air conditioning. These considerations are crucial because however
