The difficulty of "air conditioning management" specific to nursing care facilities.
In nursing facilities, air conditioning management goes beyond mere equipment operation; it is an extremely important task directly linked to the health maintenance of residents. However, the reality is that the management becomes very difficult due to overlapping challenges such as different usage patterns in various locations, differences in perceived temperature among individuals, and the hurdle of 24-hour operation. This time, we will organize common issues faced by nursing facilities and explain hints for efficient operation.
1. Five Main Factors Troubling the Field
In nursing facilities, the following factors intertwine and increase the difficulty of air conditioning management:
- The perceived temperature varies among the elderly, staff, and visitors, leading to differing feelings of comfort even at the same room temperature.
- Depending on the characteristics of the location, such as private rooms, dining areas, hallways, and bathrooms, hot and cold spots are likely to occur.
- In residential facilities, operations close to 24 hours a day are common, which inevitably leads to high electricity costs.
- To respond to complaints of "hot" or "cold," staff members have to operate the remote control each time, creating additional work.
- Even if electricity costs are high, it is difficult to understand which air conditioning units are operating at what times and how they are generating waste.