Performance comparison of different ventilation strategies in elderly care homes in Belgium

Elderly people residing in nursing homes spend a vast majority of their times indoors and often in common recreation areas, to allow for socialization and interaction. Elderly people are a vulnerable age group. Hence, it is essential to provide them with good breathable air quality during these common activities and reduce cross contamination through ventilation. Prolonged exposures of elderly to contaminants may adversely affect their health, quality of life and increase medical expenditures due to frequent hospitalizations. In Belgian elderly care homes, 3 typical ventilation strategies are commonly found (natural ventilation, extract and balanced mechanical ventilation). The aim of this work is to determine the windows opening strategies and duration for the ventilation strategies to deliver good indoor air quality. The impact of window opening on thermal comfort and energy use during heating and cooling season will be assessed. To conduct this work, models of the common room and equipped systems were developed in Modelica. The performance was assessed using two indicators: ppm.hours (for CO2), degree.hours, and days where RH(%) went outside the acceptable [30-70]% range.