Climate Adaptation and Indoor Comfort Improvement Strategies for Buildings in High-Cold Regions: Empirical Study from Ganzi Region, China

Peng Liu, Qun Zhang, Kaiyang Zhong, Youman Wei and Qing Wang
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Peng Liu: School of Architecture, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Qun Zhang: School of Architecture, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China
Kaiyang Zhong: School of Economic Information Engineering, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China
Youman Wei: Xi’an Housing and Urban-Rural Construction Bureau, Xi’an 710054, China
Qing Wang: Chongqing College of Electronic Engineering, Chongqing 401333, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-18

Abstract: The improvement of building and living conditions in high-cold areas has always been an issue worthy of attention, but there is currently no research using field survey data for evaluation. The Ganzi region, based in the western plateau of China, is a typical example for such a study. Restricted by factors such as natural conditions and economic level, the winter indoor thermal environment of western plateau houses is generally poor. Taking the new residential houses in the Ganzi region as a case study, the authors of this paper conducted field research and analyses. First, the authors analyzed the construction technology and functional layout of the building through thermal environment testing and investigation; second, the authors analyzed the user’s activity path according to the production and lifestyle; thirdly, the authors comprehensively evaluated the indoor thermal comfort through questionnaires and a predicated mean vote (PMV)-predicted percentage dissatisfied (PPD) evaluation model. The research results showed that: (1) the construction technology, functional layout, and temperature distribution of the new residential building were consistent with the user’s activity path, which could effectively improve thermal insulation ability and thermal comfort; (2) compared to the developed eastern regions, the users in the building showed a stronger tolerance and wider acceptable temperature range in the extreme climate environment; and (3) under certain cooperative work conditions, an indoor temperature of 10–14 °C could meet basic thermal environment requirements and thus lower the limits of the standards. The author’s method was proven to be more resilient than current standards in dealing with climate change. Therefore, this research can provide a practical reference for the improvement of peoples’ living conditions and sustainable development in cold regions and other harsh areas.

Keywords: indoor comfort; climate adaptation; high-cold regions; PMV–PPD evaluation model; design standards and strategies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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