Study on Improvement of Indoor Thermal Environment of Traditional Dwellings in Qinba Mountainous Area Based on Subdivision of Climatic Region

Abstract

Climate condition is an essential aspect in determining the passive design scheme. More detailed climatic subdivisions can serve as a foundation for building energy conservation specifications and building passive design, which can aid in improving indoor thermal comfort and lowering building thermal loads. In this research, using the spatial interpolation method and cluster analysis method, the Qinba mountainous area is divided into 5 climatic sub-regions, A1, A2, B1, B2, and C, based on the value of HDD18 and CDD26. In addition, the relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation intensity were used as supplementary elements for sub-climate zoning. Then, the thermal neutral temperatures of the 5 climatic sub-regions were calculated through the questionnaire survey and field measurement. Through simulation, applying the measured neutral temperature rather than the standard required temperature as the heating and cooling setpoints for the traditional dwelling could save 31.32 %, 35.28 %, 37.86 %, 39.37 %, and 41.82 % of annual building thermal loads in sub-region A1, A2, B1, B2, and C, respectively.

Keywords: Qinba mountainous area, climatic subdivision, thermal comfort, neutral temperature, thermal load