Air conditioning in healthcare facilities requires a different approach than other applications. Thermal comfort and high indoor air quality are crucial to support fast recovery in patients and also to protect them and their caregivers from acquired infections. Moreover, labs and sensitive medical equipment like MRI machines require special thermal conditions too. Hence, air conditioning in healthcare facilities requires special design, maintenance and repair considerations. As a result, several different factors need to be considered while choosing air conditioning systems for them.
Now before we look into these factors let us first understand how critical air conditioning is for healthcare facilities.
How Air Conditioning Systems are Of Critical Importance For Your Healthcare
Healthy, safe and suitable indoor thermal conditions are crucial for the patients and hospital personnel. Air conditioning systems play a vital role in maintaining aseptic conditions and good indoor air quality. The breakdown of the air conditioning system may lead to discomfort for patients, the spread of acquired infection, delay in surgeries and damage to supplies and equipment. This shows how air conditioning can be regarded as a guard in critical health applications.
Factors To Consider For Choosing Air Conditioning Units For Healthcare
So here we understood the vital importance of air conditioning in healthcare facilities. Now if you are thinking of installing a new air conditioning system in your healthcare, there are certain factors to consider before choosing the right one for you. They are as follows:
The Size Of Your Facility
Air conditioning units come in different cooling capacities. To buy the air conditioner with the right cooling capacity, you must consider the size of your facility, since they are directly related. A unit of smaller capacity will be sufficient for smaller set-ups while higher capacity units will be required for larger facilities. The capacity of an air conditioner is measured in British Thermal Units (BTU) per hour. You can choose the air conditioner according to the ideal standard of 25 BTUs per square foot for five occupants.
Moreover, the size of your healthcare also plays an important role in choosing the right type of air conditioning system. For smaller set-ups like clinics and nursing homes, multi-split air conditioners or split air conditioners (one per room), can be considered. While for larger facilities like hospitals, Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) systems are recommended. VRF systems offer the ability for multiple indoor zones to operate on the same system.
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Noise Levels
In hospitals and clinics, the comfort of their patient is of paramount importance. Increased noise levels create discomfort and disrupt the quiet environment needed for patients to heal and recover. Thus, it becomes important to choose an air conditioning system with minimum noise output. Moreover, Healthcare facilities prefer materials that are easy to clean and promote infection control. Hence, they often consist of hard and reflective materials that are not quite sound-absorbing. This is one more reason why low noise units are preferred in healthcare facilities.
Superior Air Quality and Ventilation
To minimise the transmission of any airborne infection, superior air quality is of vital importance as well in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. For this reason, air conditioning units with effective filtration and ventilation functions are preferred. You can choose to install such units that effectively control contaminants, odour and indoor air pollution through ventilation, filtration and air exchange. Such units also play a crucial role in humidity control and thereby ensure a suitable microclimate.
As well as quality air conditioning solutions, we offer commercial ventilation system installation that will perfectly suit your requirements.
Energy Efficiency
Hospitals and most other healthcare facilities operate 24 x 7. As a result, the workload on the air conditioning system will be significantly high. In such conditions, having air conditioners with high efficiency is critical. Air conditioning systems with inverter technology can prove to be quite relevant for healthcare applications.
A Reliable and Experienced HVAC Contractor
We have already understood how vital air conditioning systems are for healthcare facilities. Thus, if you are looking to install an air conditioning system at your hospital or clinic, you must consult a trusted and experienced contractor. Only such a contractor can properly understand and analyse your needs and subsequently get you a system that will be perfect for you.
Moreover, air conditioning systems at healthcare facilities demand considerable maintenance since they operate round the clock. Downtime can lead to critical problems for patients. Thus, consulting an HVAC contractor that provides consistent and quality commercial air conditioning service and maintenance support is of crucial importance.
So, before you install an air conditioning system at your healthcare facility, it will be helpful for you to consider these factors to choose the right one.
Now if you are planning to install an air conditioner at your premises and looking for a trustworthy air conditioning company in London, look no further and contact us now. We list among the most reputable contractors in the healthcare air conditioning installation in London market.
We provide holistic HVAC solutions such as installation and service of heat recovery systems, ventilation system installation, renewable energy installation and hot water system installation.