A field investigation on the winter thermal comfort of residents in rural houses at different latitudes of northeast severe cold regions, China. (November 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shao, Teng; Jin, Hong
• Is Part Of: Journal of building engineering. Volume 32(2021)
• Publication Date: 2020-11
• Subjects: Northeast severe cold regions -- Rural houses -- Indoor thermal environment -- Thermal comfort and adaptability -- Building energy consumption; Building -- Periodicals; 690.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2020.101476
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-7102

Abstract

Abstract: The severely cold regions of Northeast have a colder climate and large latitude span in China. Scholars should pay more attention to the creation of a comfortable indoor thermal environment in winter. In order to understand indoor thermal environments and residents' thermal comfort statuses in areas at different latitudes, a field survey was conducted in three areas: Harbin (45°N), Changchun (43°N) and Shenyang (41°N). On-site environmental parameter measurements and a subjective questionnaire were conducted simultaneously. Then, the relation between operative temperature and building energy consumption was explored. The results showed that the neutral operative temperature is the highest in Harbin (16.8 °C), followed by Changchun (16.4 °C) and Shenyang (16.0 °C), which are all higher than the measured temperatures. For these regions, 90% of the acceptable temperature ranges are 14.6–19.1 °C, 14.4–18.6 °C and 13.9–18.2 °C, respectively. The expected operative temperatures are 18.6 °C, 17.8 °C and 17.3 °C higher than the neutral temperature, respectively. This reveals that as the latitude increases, the neutral temperature, the upper and lower limits of the acceptable range and the expected temperature are all increased. For different ages, the youth have a higher requirement in terms of thermal comfort, followed by the middle-aged and elderly groups. Compare to males, females feel colder under the same operative temperature. Due to the independent heating system in rural houses, adjusting the heat supply, instead of clothing, is the main adaptive behavior. Regarding building energy consumption, as the latitude declines, the influence of changes in operative temperature increases. If both the regional neutral temperature and zoning heating mode are adopted, energy consumption further decreases. These findings provide a reference for the development of an evaluation standard for indoor thermal environments and an energy-saving design for rural houses in the northeast severe cold regions of China. Highlights: Regression models of thermal sensation and thermal preference at different latitudes were proposed. The influence rule and difference of latitude on thermal comfort requirement were analyzed. The demand for thermal comfort in different genders and ages were determined. Adjust heat supply instead of clothing adjustment was the main adaptive behavior of rural residents. The effect of change in indoor operative temperature on building energy consumption at different latitudes was explored.