Evaluation of indoor environment quality of elderly centers of Hong Kong

In order to examine the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of elderly centers in Hong Kong, occupants were asked to rate their acceptance of the current condition of the elderly centers in four different aspects: thermal comfort, indoor air quality, aural comfort and visual comfort. Measurements of the four IEQ parameters, i.e. operative temperature (To), carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, equivalent noise level (Leq) and illumination level (lux), were also taken at the elderly centers. The measurement results were correlated to the corresponding occupants' subjective responses on the environmental quality of the centre using IEQ assessment scales. The range of acceptance of the environmental conditions of nineteen Hong Kong elderly centers and its dependence on the four IEQ parameters from 440 occupants were determined. The result showed that, apart from a small number (<1% of respondents) of unsatisfactory feedbacks for some extreme environmental conditions regarding individual aspects, all occupants were satisfied with the current overall environmental conditions of the elderly centers at typical indoor environmental conditions, attributed by operative temperatures of 25.4 ± 2.8 °C, carbon dioxide concentrations of 970 ± 460 ppm, illumination levels of 490 ± 460 lux and equivalent sound pressure levels of 69 ± 8 dBA. These environmental conditions of IEQ acceptance could be used as a reference standard for an acceptable indoor environment in an elderly centre.