Developing new heat pump system to improve indoor living space in senior long-term care house

Abstract

The issue of an aging population is becoming increasingly acute in Taiwan; in 2018, seniors comprised over 14\xa0% of the total population. The quality of care for senior citizens hinges on the ability of long-term care facilities to create comfortable living spaces while ensuring energy efficiency by reducing electricity consumption, thereby providing them with an environment for aging in an active and positive way. This study proposes a new heat pump system that offers a cold source in the summer and a heat source in the winter. In addition, the air-conditioning and ventilation rates required for comfort in indoor living spaces are established to ensure the high quality of the care spaces in these types of institutions. The results after installation of the heat pump system were as follows: (1) Performance of the heat pump system: the inlet temperature of the heat pump chilled water was maintained at 7-10\xa0°C, and the outlet temperature, at 42-54\xa0°C. (2)\xa0Energy efficiency: Based on a 95\xa0% confidence interval, the average annual electricity consumption was 32.65 kwh/day, which was 32.65\xa0% of the prior consumption level; the reduction of 67.35\xa0% is comparable to those of most heat pump systems. (3) Improvement of the indoor environment: In the hottest scenario, the indoor temperature was reduced by 3 °C and the relative humidity to 55-65\xa0%, which fall within comfortable ranges. After the heat pump system was introduced, significant improvements in ventilation, air quality and comfort were noted, as well as significant improvement in average total satisfaction scores. All improvements reached statistical significance. The overall objective of the system is to enhance the environmental quality in long-term senior care facilities and make them healthier and more energy efficient.