EVALUATION OF THERMAL COMFORT IN NATURAL VENTILATED HOSPITAL WARDS

Abstract

In face of a rising aging population in Singapore, the number of elderly citizens aged 65 and above is expected to spike by 2030 due to the generations of the baby bloomers. Along with increased life expectancy of the population as well as the greying citizens, healthcare demands are expected to increase proportionately to cater to the growing needs in Singapore’s healthcare industry. As more hospitals are being built in Singapore (general and community), healthcare facilities must also be constantly reviewed, upgraded and adaptable to changing needs in order to provide the necessary and best comfort and services to the occupants, both staff and patients. Non air-conditioned wards take up the highest proportion of the wards in a hospital and they rely on natural ventilation in order to provide thermal comfort to its occupants. In this study, it focuses on naturally ventilated wards, with objective and subjective measurements conducted in a sample bed section within a ward in each selected hospital. A total of 3 hospitals (NTFGH, KTPH and NUH) are selected to make a comparison reflective of the changing design of hospital ward design on ventilation performance within the wards. The subjective measurement consist of a thermal comfort survey for both nurses and patients, while the objective measurement is based on taking wind speed measurement within different points in the bed section, along with outdoor wind measurement at the rooftop. It was found that the most modern design (fan-shaped ward) of NTFGH received the highest wind speed performance within the wards as compared to KTPH and NUH, which retained the traditional ward design (box-shaped ward) in both monsoon seasons in Singapore. Similarly, thermal comfort perception among the occupants was well received in NTFGH as compared to KTPH and NUH, reasons being due to the higher wind speed leading to higher thermal comfort perception.