Towards Improving Rural Living Environment for Chinese Cold Region Based on Investigation of Thermal Environment and Space Usage Status

Abstract

China's rural revitalization has been rapidly developed in recent years. Although previous research showed that the poor indoor thermal environment of vernacular dwellings has negative effects on residents' thermal comfort and health, it is poorly studied in terms of residents' space usage habits, their thermal comfort satisfaction, and sensation. Linyi, the largest and most populous city in Shandong China, was selected as the research area to investigate thermal environment and space usage by in-depth questionnaire interviews and systematical measurements. The results show that there are seasonal differences in space usage of the typical vernacular dwelling. The field measurements show that the indoor temperature is 0-5℃in winter if there is no heating, while it is more suitable in summer. Questionnaires analysis shows that residents have higher satisfaction with the indoor thermal environment in summer than that in winter, and their thermal comfort range is 23.3℃~30℃ in summer and 11.25℃~17.5℃ in winter. Although residents have better adaptability to the cold climate, the measurement data are still out of the comfort range. We hope that these results can be used as a reference and data base for improving the living environment of the rural vernacular dwellings in Chinese cold regions.

Keywords: Cold regions, Vernacular dwellings, Indoor thermal environment, Space usage Status, Thermal satisfaction, Thermal sensation