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Residential Care

Building automation for care facilities

Automated facilities and healthcare building systems can lead to safer, more efficient residential care.

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A compassionate caregiver gently holds the hand of an elderly woman to provide comfort and emotional support in a clinical or home care setting.
A caregiver pours coffee for an elderly man seated at a wooden dining table in a bright, sunlit home kitchen.

Automated facilities and healthcare building systems can lead to safer, more efficient residential care.

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Streamline Residential Care Operations with Integrated Automation

Residential care providers work to provide safe, comfortable environments for vulnerable populations. At the same time, they face the challenges of managing operational costs and regulatory requirements. With over one million Americans living in residential care communities and occupancy reaching record highs, providers need integrated automation to help optimize building performance, support resident wellbeing and improve workforce productivity.1

A caregiver assists elderly residents playing cards at tables in a bright, sunlit community room of an assisted living facility.

Optimize HVAC Performance and Maintain Resident Comfort

Residential care populations are vulnerable to temperature extremes and indoor air quality issues. Maintaining stable, comfortable environments is essential for resident health and safety, yet HVAC systems typically account for over half of a healthcare facility’s energy consumption.2 Our building automation systems offer continuous environmental monitoring, while automated controls help maintain proper temperature, humidity and ventilation. With advanced analytics and automated scheduling, we can help residential care centers reduce electricity consumption while maintaining required environmental standards.

A professional female doctor engages in a friendly, supportive consultation with an elderly female patient within a modern clinic examination room.

Support Infection Control and Regulatory Requirements

Infection prevention is a critical priority for residential care facilities serving vulnerable populations, many of whom have chronic conditions and care dependencies. Automated building management systems help facilities monitor air quality, maintain proper ventilation and support conditions needed for infection control. Integration with fire detection, life safety and access control systems provides layered protection for residents and staff. Automated reporting capabilities support regulatory compliance efforts aligned with CDC guidelines and Joint Commission standards. 

A caregiver in white scrubs pushes a patient in a wheelchair down a bright, sunlit corridor in a modern medical or nursing facility.

Enhance Emergency Preparedness and Life Safety Response

Residential care facilities must maintain continuous readiness for fire, medical, and other emergencies that affect its residents. Integrated building automation systems can enhance emergency response (and help maintain compliance with NFPA 99 Health Care Facilities Code3) by connecting fire detection, access control, emergency power and HVAC systems into unified platforms that provide near real-time situational awareness. Door locking solutions and visitor management help create a secure environment, while automated smoke control systems help prevent smoke spread to maintain air quality and visibility during fire events. Regular automated testing and monitoring of emergency systems also helps maintain continuous compliance and operational readiness. 

  • More than 1M people

    currently live in residential care facilities nationwide4

  • 5% of total commercial floorspace in the US

    is healthcare facilities, yet they use 10% of the commercial energy consumption5

  • Potential 29% savings

    in energy costs with building automation systems6

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Frequently Asked Questions About Residential Care Automation

We designed our building automation systems to integrate with existing HVAC, lighting, fire detection, access control, and other building systems through standardized communication protocols and interfaces. Our solutions for healthcare systems support multiple communication protocols including BACnet, Modbus and LonWorks, enabling integration across equipment from different manufacturers. This means healthcare institutions can upgrade their legacy systems incrementally, allowing for staged implementation that minimizes operational disruption. Integration enables centralized oversight while preserving local control capabilities, helping facility staff to manage multiple systems from unified interfaces. Professional assessment helps identify integration opportunities, compatibility requirements and optimal upgrade paths specific to each facility's existing infrastructure.

Healthcare facilities must comply with layered federal, state and local codes, with CMS enforcing Conditions of Participation that tie Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement to compliance with NFPA Life Safety Code and Health Care Facilities Code standards.7, 8 Building automation can help residential care facilities meet ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170 requirements (adopted by CMS) for temperature, humidity, pressure differentials, air changes per hour and filtration levels specific to different healthcare spaces. Automated monitoring and documentation systems can also verify that environmental conditions remain within required ranges, generating compliance records that satisfy state survey requirements. Each state may have unique code adoptions and interpretation, making it essential to work with professionals familiar with both federal requirements and local authority having jurisdiction expectations.

Building automation systems can deliver strong financial returns for residential care and healthcare facilities, with payback periods ranging from 1 to 7 years depending on facility size and existing infrastructure.9 Government studies show building automation can reduce commercial building energy consumption by approximately 29%, and energy management control improvements show median simple payback times of 1.1 years.10

See How Automated, Integrated Healthcare Systems Can Streamline Your Operations

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Sources:

1 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db506.htm
2 https://www.pnnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-31040.pdf
3 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/05/04/2016-10043/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-fire-safety-requirements-for-certain-health-care-facilities
4 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/residential-care-communities.htm
5 https://www.pnnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-31040.pdf
6 https://www.pnnl.gov/sites/default/files/media/file/Impacts%20of%20Commercial%20Building.pdf
7 https://www.cms.gov/medicare/health-safety-standards/certification-compliance/life-safety-code-health-care-facilities-code-requirements
8 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/05/04/2016-10043/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-fire-safety-requirements-for-certain-health-care-facilities
9 https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/articles/report-delves-impacts-commercial-building-controls-energy-savings
10 https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/articles/report-delves-impacts-commercial-building-controls-energy-savings

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