Ventilation guidelines for Flemish childcare and psychological care centres

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have expressed the need for practical ventilation guidelines to maintain acceptable indoor air quality (IAQ) in the public care sector, where vulnerable groups reside. The aim of this paper is to establish such guidelines dedicated to old and newly built psychological care homes and child day care centres in Flanders (Belgium). For each sector, a representative simulation model was designed in Modelica. Inputs for building and system characteristics, and occupant behaviour were gathered via an online survey and assessed via a stakeholder group, representing each sector. Afterwards, multiple simulation scenarios, varying building and system characteristics (e.g., ventilation system type, control, flow rate, window opening area) and occupant behaviours (e.g., window opening frequency and duration, occupancy density) were tested. The impact of each simulation scenario on the CO2-concentrations exceedance hours and energy use were evaluated. Based on the simulation results, appropriate ventilation strategies offering acceptable IAQ conditions were determined. Finally, the feasibility of each ventilation strategy was discussed with the stakeholder groups and the guidelines were translated into practical instructions for building facility managers in the public care sector of Flanders.