The Effects of Diffuser Location on Thermal Comfort in Hospital Recovery Rooms

It is evident from the existing research that poor thermal comfort can adversely affect the health and productivity of the occupants. The analysis of thermal comfort is even more significant in the health care environments where the occupants are potentially more vulnerable due to poor individual health (patients) and/or extended exposure to such conditions (staff). This study focuses on the evaluation of thermal comfort in hospitals’ recovery rooms considering both health care staff and patients. To do so, this study examines the impact of the location of air supply and return/exhaust grilles on the perceived thermal comfort at different locations in the room. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis was utilized to evaluate the airflow profile in the room and obtain values for the local air speed. Based on the simulated air speeds, the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) criteria were calculated at 36 different points within the room to analyze the effect of air diffusers’ location. The study concludes that there is a negligible effect of the diffuser location on thermal comfort, provided that the ventilation system’s design guidelines have been followed.