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A field investigation and comparative study of indoor environmental quality in heritage Chinese rural buildings with thick rammed earth wall
Abstract
Tulou buildings (World Heritage Site) are a unique kind of rural buildings with rammed earth and in a wooden framework, distributed across the southeastern China. In this study, a field investigation of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in these traditional rural buildings was conducted and compared with that in normal rural buildings in the region. The IEQ concerned include indoor thermal, luminous, acoustic environment and indoor air quality. Both field measurements of key parameters and residents’ subjective surveys were conducted in this investigation. Results show that the residents in Tulou buildings had better satisfaction of indoor thermal environment and overall indoor environmental quality than normal rural residents did, while they had a poorer satisfaction of indoor acoustic environment mainly due to larger tourist flow. Regarding the luminous environment and indoor air quality, the sensations for the residents in Tulou and normal rural buildings were of no obvious distinction. In general, the results from on-site measurement were in agreement with those obtained by results from residents’ subjective survey. Additionally, the possible reasons for the differences in IEQ between Tulou buildings and normal rural buildings were discussed.
... In other countries, several studies have suggested that residents of heritage or vernacular buildings may in fact perceive them to perform as well as, and in some cases better than, more modern homes (Martínez-Molina et al., 2016). A study in a warm and humid region of China compared the indoor environmental perceptions of residents of 'Tulou' rammed earth heritage buildings with those of modern rural buildings (Li et al., 2013). This found that ...
... Perceptions of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) are generally examined across a range of categories, including temperature, ventilation, air quality, moisture, light and noise levels (Ortiz et al., 2020;Li et al., 2013), although temperature and ventilation are the most commonly studied (Martínez-Molina et al., 2016;Brager et al., 2015). As noted by a Malaysian study, people have different thermal comfort ranges (Omar and Syed-Fadzil, 2011). ...
... In some cases, heritage buildings may even perform better than contemporary buildings when measured data is compared. Two companion studies of measured indoor environmental quality and energy performance compared Tulou buildings (circular, rammed earth, multi-family heritage buildings) with modern rural buildings in south-eastern China (Li et al., 2012(Li et al., , 2013. Environmental monitoring showed that, as well as perceived better performance, the heritage buildings also had better measured indoor environmental quality over a range of indicators, despite using 28% less energy on average than the modern buildings. ...
Retrofitting the built environment is critical for mitigating devastating climate change. Operational energy from buildings is responsible for 27% of global carbon emissions. However, standard retrofitting approaches are often not appropriate for the 20-30% of UK homes with heritage value. This research examines the potential for realistic carbon reduction from these buildings while retaining their heritage values.
The county of Cumbria was the overarching case for this research which involved a resident survey, 16 individual building-resident case studies with both quantitative and qualitative data, and lifecycle modelling of retrofit options.
The study found that most residents of vernacular buildings, whether with official heritage designation or not, invest heritage values in their buildings and that these values affect the retrofits they consider acceptable and will therefore enact. Meanwhile, most residents already engage in energy conscious behaviour. In contrast to common assumptions, most residents find their buildings comfortable, emphasising excellent summer performance, although previous maladaptions can present challenges. The study further showed that standard modelling tools poorly reflect both vernacular buildings’ energy performance and residents’ behaviours and preferences, thus frequently recommending inappropriate alterations.
When the embodied carbon of the retrofits was calculated alongside the operational savings it frequently influenced which measures had the lowest lifecycle carbon. There were also positive synergies between measures with low embodied carbon and those acceptable to residents’ heritage values; these measures tend to be non-invasive and less technical but are harder to model and quantify and therefore often overlooked.
This research shows that we should acknowledge residents’ values and behaviours, consider residents and their buildings as interrelated and interdependent, and include the embodied impacts of retrofit, if we are to realistically make desperately needed carbon reductions from our buildings. This study has implications for retrofitting approaches and policies for vernacular buildings with applicability far beyond Cumbria.
... In indoor environmental quality field studies dealing with thermal, acoustic, and illuminous conditions and indoor air quality at a same time, various types of scales have been used for subjective assessment. Interval scales of 4-7 points [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] have been frequently used for combined environmental assessments. Dichotomous scales [21,22,[36][37][38], 11-point scales [39], 13-point scales [39], and VASs [20,36] were also used for indoor environmental assessments. ...
... Interval scales of 4-7 points [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] have been frequently used for combined environmental assessments. Dichotomous scales [21,22,[36][37][38], 11-point scales [39], 13-point scales [39], and VASs [20,36] were also used for indoor environmental assessments. Most of them used identical scales throughout the assessment regardless of the type of environment [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]37,38], but some used different scales for each environmental factor [19][20][21][22]36,39]. Table 1 summarizes the response scales used for subjective assessment in previous studies dealing with combined environmental factors. ...
... Dichotomous scales [21,22,[36][37][38], 11-point scales [39], 13-point scales [39], and VASs [20,36] were also used for indoor environmental assessments. Most of them used identical scales throughout the assessment regardless of the type of environment [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]37,38], but some used different scales for each environmental factor [19][20][21][22]36,39]. Table 1 summarizes the response scales used for subjective assessment in previous studies dealing with combined environmental factors. Response scales were used as research methods in these previous studies, even though the appropriateness of the response scales for use in the studies was not fully investigated. ...
Response scales are widely used to assess the personal experience of sensation and perception in built environments, and have a great impact on the quality of the responses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of response scales on human sensation and perception in moderate indoor environments. Four different response scales were compared under three room temperatures (19.0 °C, 24.5 °C, and 30.0 °C) and five acoustic stimuli (ambient noise, 42 and 61 dBA × water sounds and traffic noise): a bipolar seven-point scale according to ISO 10551:1995, a unipolar 11-point scale according to ISO/TS 15666:2003, these two scales combined for each sensory comfort assessment, and a bipolar visual analogue scale. The degree of relative differentiation based on indoor physical factors made no significant difference across the four response scales. Therefore, the effects of physical factors on human response could be assessed by using any of the four scales tested in this study, with a statistical significance at P < 0.05 in moderate environments. The choice of response scale would depend not only on the type of physical stimulus but also on the question of sensation or perception. The reliability of each response scale was different according to the subjective attributes. The bipolar visual analogue scale was subjectively preferred by the respondents.
... However there is limited evidence for this in northern Europe as heritage residents' comfort perceptions have received little research attention [7]. Furthermore, research from other climates has found that residents of older buildings may in fact perceive them to perform as well as, and sometimes, better than, more modern buildings [8][9][10]. There is thus a clear need to interrogate the comfort perceptions of heritage building residents in more detail. ...
... Further details of the studies can be found in Table A1 in the appendix. An additional study in a humid subtropical region of China [8] was also included because it investigated heritage and modern buildings and had several similarities which made the data readily comparable. ...
Reducing energy and associated carbon emissions from the existing built environment is critically important to meet our climate goals. Heritage buildings are often presented in the literature as energy inefficient, and uncomfortable to inhabit. There is however little research into residents’ perceptions of comfort in these buildings to support this view, while there is some evidence to suggest that heritage buildings may be more thermally comfortable than generally assumed. This paper interrogates a survey of 147 residents of pre-1940 heritage buildings in Cumbria, UK, to examine residents’ comfort perceptions. This survey is compared with secondary data from other UK studies on residential comfort. Results are elucidated with more detailed responses from interviews with 16 heritage households. Three key findings were made. First, heritage buildings are perceived to have broadly comparable thermal performance to more modern UK buildings by their residents. Second, the survey results and interviews found that residents perceive their buildings to perform particularly well in summer, keeping comfortably cool in hot weather. In contrast, the literature suggests that newer homes often appear to suffer from overheating. Third, although many Cumbrian residents found their buildings draughty, a large percentage would not prefer less ventilation, with case study participants citing their enjoyment of fresh air. These results are highly relevant for successful approaches to renovation and the implementation of the European Renovation Wave. Renovations are often promoted to heritage residents for their comfort improvement potential. However, if buildings are already perceived as broadly comfortable this may not be a key driver. Alternative motivations may therefore need to be identified to drive renovation uptake. The findings also highlight the importance of maintaining positive aspects such as good summer performance.
... Since 2010, the thermal comfort and energy consumption of traditional buildings have attracted more and more scholarly attention all over the world (Wang, Wei, and He 2004). The current research is mainly concentrated in Europe, especially in Italy (Cardinale et al. 2011;Alongi et al. 2015;Ascione, Rossi, and Vanoli 2011;Cardinale, Rospi, and Stefanizzi 2013), with earth (Li et al. 2013) or stone buildings (Cardinale et al. 2011;Alongi et al. 2015;Ascione, Rossi, and Vanoli 2011;Cardinale, Rospi, and Stefanizzi 2013) as the research object, rather than wooden buildings. Cardinale et al. (2011) quantified the thermo-hygrometric performance of the base materials in Italian historic buildings through in situ measurements. ...
... Ascione, Rossi, and Vanoli (2011) assessed occupant thermal comfort under new temperature setpoints. Li et al. (2013) conducted a field investigation of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in traditional rural buildings (Tulou) and found that, regarding the luminous environment and indoor air quality, the sensations for residents in Tulou and normal rural buildings were of no obvious distinction. Cardinale, Rospi, and Stefanizzi (2013) also studied two types of buildings, which are the examples of vernacular architecture in Southern Italy. ...
Green and energy-saving reforms, which use protection as a precondition, can, not only reduce a building’s energy use but also improve its level of comfort. Such reforms can also adapt to the new demands of modern society while extending the life of traditional architecture. Therefore, this research chose a classical, traditional house in Hangzhou Zhejiang, China, as a transformation object – attempting to implement low-cost, energy-saving technology. The building’s energy consumption and level of comfort before and after the transformation have been simulated and measured to compare the effects of the transformation. The authors hope this research will provide insights into green and energy-saving reform technology and aid the sustainable development of traditional houses.
... With the focus shifting toward economic development and the Rural Revitalization Strategy, there is an increasing emphasis on renovating and enhancing rural architecture to improve the living conditions of its inhabitants. Noteworthy research has been conducted on Fujian's vernacular architecture, such as Qindi Li et al.'s comparative analysis of the indoor environmental quality and subjective responses of residents in Tulou buildings (a World Heritage Site) and conventional rural dwellings [31]. Their findings revealed greater satisfaction among Tulou residents regarding the quality of the indoor thermal environment when compared with the average rural inhabitants. ...
Vernacular architecture provides valuable insights into bioclimatic design, an integral part of the architectural design process. This study aims to investigate the bioclimatic design strategies used in vernacular architecture in southeastern China, with the goal of inspiring energy-efficient restoration and contemporary architectural design. Initially, the Mahoney Table was used to identify a priori bioclimatic design strategies, serving as a reference for the field survey conducted in three distinct landscape regions. Subsequently, a field survey was conducted to identify and summarize the characteristics of 907 vernacular buildings across 63 settlements, focusing on their bioclimatic potential and categorizing them into five aspects of bioclimatic strategies. The results revealed that bioclimatic design strategies vary in response to local conditions, deviating from the recommendations of the Mahoney Table. This underscores the significance of empirical studies on vernacular bioclimatic design strategies. The findings from this study have practical implications for guiding regional building practices in areas with similar climates and landscapes.
... With the continuous development of society, people's living standards and aesthetic abilities have increased, as has the importance of safety and comfort in the residential environment [6]. The quality of ILE has a direct impact on people's daily lives [7], affecting the well-being and satisfaction of residents as well as housing prices [8][9][10]. Thus, exploring the relationship between ILE factors and housing prices is essential. ...
The indoor living environment of residential buildings is an important part of the habitat environment, affecting the living experience and well-being of the residents, which in turn influences the price of housing. However, few existing studies systematically concentrate on the integrated influence of the various elements of the indoor living environment on prices, and even fewer analyze the relationship between the indoor living environment and housing prices of different houses within the same residential quarter from a microperspective. Therefore, we use the Taojinjiayuan Residential Quarter, located in central Guangzhou City, China, as a case study area and analyze the extent and direction of the effect of the indoor living environment on housing prices. The study found that the quantitative evaluation results of the indoor living environment were reasonable. The integrated indoor living environment factors are closely related to housing prices. Orientation, view, and acoustic environment are significantly and positively related to housing prices, which have a different intensity of influence. These findings are beneficial to real estate developers, building designers, and residential users in quantitatively understanding the value of the indoor living environment.
... It is well known that rammed-earth walls can regulate indoor temperature and humidity [10], reduce energy consumption, and create low-carbon and comfortable indoor spaces. Rammed-earth walls are increasingly valued because of their low implied energy, moisture-buffering capacity, and thermal stability [11]. They have demonstrated many technical, economic, social, and environmental benefits that meet the needs for alternative building materials [12]. ...
Rammed-earth dwellings have a long history in the construction field. It is a natural material that is both green and environmentally friendly. In recent years, the advantages of rammed earth, such as environmental protection, low cost, and recyclability, have attracted considerable attention. In this study, the thermal and humidity physical properties of rammed-earth materials in the northwest Sichuan region, the variation laws of thermal physical parameters, such as the thermal conductivity of rammed-earth under different moisture content conditions, and isothermal moisture absorption and desorption curves were investigated. The results indicated that the thermal physical parameters of the rammed earth measured in the experiment increased with an increase in moisture content, and its moisture absorption performance was better than the moisture release performance in the range of 11.31-97.3% relative humidity. The experimental site, Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, is a subtropical monsoon humid climate zone characterized by warm winters and hot summers with four distinct seasons. In this study, we investigated the hygrothermal coupling transfer of walls, as well as the indoor temperature and humidity changes in new rammed-earth buildings during summer and winter climates. During the test period, the maximum indoor temperature in summer was 35.08 °C, the minimum temperature was 33.76 °C, and the average daily temperature fluctuation was 3.62 °C. In winter, the maximum indoor temperature was 8.59 °C, the minimum temperature was 6.18 °C, and the average daily temperature fluctuation was 1.21 °C. An analysis was performed on the thermal insulation performance of rammed-earth buildings in an extremely high-temperature climate during summer, thermal insulation performance, the thermal-buffering capacity of walls in a low-temperature and high-humidity climate during winter, and thermal and humidity regulation of indoor environments provided by walls during summer and winter. The results showed that the rammed-earth buildings exhibited warmth in winter, coolness in summer, and a more stable and comfortable indoor environment.
... The third theme, "Vernacular Architectural Heritage Conservation and Sustainability", is related to this group of keywords, including "Sustainable Development", "Historic Preservation", "Cultural Heritages", "Historic Building", "Conservation", "Construction Industry", "Tourism", "Construction Material", and so on. Most of these keywords appeared widely in publications only after 2015 [5,7,91,[98][99][100][101][102]. The conservation and sustainable development of vernacular architecture have received the attention of the industry and scholars. ...
An effective strategy for sustainable development is to conduct research on vernacular architecture in response to urbanisation as well as environmental and climate change challenges. However, focused discussion has been limited to date due to the diverse range of disciplines involved in vernacular architecture and the unique examples in practice. Scopus, one of the largest literature databases, was used to find and select a total of 1403 documents for this paper. Techniques for both quantitative and qualitative literature analysis were employed using Microsoft Excel (Version 16.75.2) and the visualisation tool VOSviewer (Version 1.6.19). Using bibliometric analysis, more academic publications were reviewed, aiming to analyse the current situation, influence, and future direction of the literature related to vernacular architecture. The current issues have been obtained from the statistical results, and the opportunities and challenges of vernacular architecture in today’s cities are discussed. The twenty most frequently referenced publications, keywords, and correlations between co-occurrences were all examined in this bibliometric analysis, along with annual publishing trends and the most influential nations, institutions, sources, and authors. The analysis showed a rising trend in vernacular architectural publications, with China, Italy, and Spain being the most prolific nations whose institutions have a high academic impact. However, the degree of international author collaboration remains insignificant. Future themes could focus on energy, comfort, earthquake resilience, and sustainability, with cultural heritage and vernacular communities still receiving little research attention. This study is a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of vernacular architecture, as well as an important study of sustainability and resilience, affirming the importance of vernacular architecture in terms of future urban form and drawing on the lessons of history. Also, the proposed research framework could be a strong reference for future researchers looking for inspiration.
... Several possible solutions aim to maximize the energy efficiency of buildings, without compromising occupant comfort and health. Some of these solutions include the use of materials that are thermally efficient, such as earthen materials [1][2][3]. The relatively recent acknowledgment of the beneficial thermal properties of earth-based materials has led to a growing scientific interest in the subject [4]. ...
Vernacular architecture incorporates many cooling and heating passive design strategies related to the structural envelope, the different architectural arrangements and the way of living of the inhabitants. Adobe walls are considered to be high thermal mass masonries, as they have the ability to store thermal energy. The high thermal inertia of these materials regulates indoor temperature variations through considerable time lags, thus contributing to the improvement of thermal comfort conditions. This study deals with the environmental behaviour of an adobe historic building in the rural area of Nicosia, Cyprus. The aim of this study is the investigation of the hygrothermal performance of the external adobe masonry walls of the structure under study. For this purpose, in-situ long-term monitoring is currently being carried out, focusing on the indoor and outdoor environmental conditions of a south wall of a room which has two exposed surfaces, the north towards the street and the south towards a courtyard. The south wall is being monitored with temperature/moisture sensors, installed at various locations along its thickness and height. In situ monitoring is complemented with laboratory measurements of the thermophysical (thermal conductivity, porosity, and sorptivity) properties of the main masonry material (adobes). Rising damp height, time of wetness, thermal inertia and decrement factor have all been calculated based on the laboratory and in-situ measurements. The results are analysed in terms of existing standards and analytical equations. The findings of this research may be used to evaluate the overall thermal performance of historic adobe buildings and the effectiveness of adobe walls in the improvement of indoor comfort conditions.
... Inhabitants of severely cold areas were observed to have developed specific forms of heating [9]. Li et al. [10] compared the indoor air quality (IAQ) of traditional dwellings constructed of rammed earth with the more commonly found buildings, finding that the inhabitants of the former experienced more comfortable thermal environments and IAQ than the residents of other dwellings. Zhao et al. [11] investigated low-income residents in rural China, observing that they wore thicker clothing during winter to reduce heating requirements, while Li et al. [12] observed that satisfaction with thermal conditions was associated with differences in culture and that these differences should be taken into account when formulating building standards in rural areas. ...
In winter, many rural people in the coastal areas of northern China burn coal for both cooking and heating. As a result, the rural population is seriously affected by indoor air pollution. To analyze the influence of the location of heating sources on the air quality within rural buildings, 60 buildings with coal heating were surveyed and monitored using an Intelligent Built Environmental Monitor for eight days. In addition, four typical rural buildings with different locations of heating sources were selected for a transient analysis. The peak concentration of CO2 was 2869 ppm in House 1 with a coal-fired stove in the living room. The average particulate matter (PM) levels were 89 μg/m3, 150 μg/m3, and 182 μg/m3 for PM 1.0, PM 2.5, and PM 10, respectively, in House 2 where a stove was situated in a room adjacent to the living room. House 3, where stoves were in separate rooms, had PM 1.0, PM 2.5, and PM 10 values of 25 μg/m3, 39 μg/m3, and 49 μg/m3, respectively, and the lowest CO2 concentration (564 ppm) was found in House 4. The data collected showed that the CO2, PM 1.0, PM 2.5, and PM 10 concentrations within Houses 1 and 2 far exceeded the standard for indoor air quality. The findings suggested that coal-fired stoves, as a heating source, should be situated away from the living room and adjacent rooms, and this change would clearly reduce the concentrations of CO2 and particulate matter. Suitable courtyard ventilation was necessary for houses with two or more heating sources.
... Higher moisture buffering value and lower thermal conductivity of the earthen building materials compared to fired * M. G. Sreekumar sreekuair@cusat.ac.in 1 School of Engineering, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin 682 022, India possibilities of utilizing the locally available fibrous waste materials (natural and plastic) for improving the hygrothermal properties of stabilized earthen masonry blocks without compromising the mechanical strength. ...
Energy efficiency in building construction is the
main focus of modern construction practices. Earthen construction
is gaining more attention in this respect. Moisture
buffering value of unstabilized earthen materials is a peculiar
characteristic contributing to this objective. At the same
time, excessive moisture content leads to reduced mechanical
strength. Most of the conventional stabilization methods
adversely affect the assured thermal comfort of earthen
construction. However, the feasibility of fiber stabilization in
improving the hygrothermal properties of stabilized earthen
blocks along with strength enhancement is not been explored
properly. This study is focused on this objective to investigate
the feasibility of locally available fibrous wastes. The
results of the study showed improved thermal comfort with
better moisture buffering properties and enhanced strength
characteristics for coir fiber-reinforced specimens, and could
establish the feasibility of coir fiber wastes as reinforcements
in stabilized soil masonry blocks suitable for energy-efficient
construction.
Keywords Thermal conductivity · Stabilized earthen
block · Capillary absorption · Coir fiber · Moisture
buffering value
... The current research on the sustainability of earth buildings mainly focuses on low energy consumption and stable indoor temperature [11,12]. Besides, studies on earth building construction technology are mainly focused on improving the mechanical properties and construction quality of earth buildings so that they can meet the living needs of contemporary people [13,14]. ...
Raw earth is the main material used in traditional architecture in Southwest rural China because it is inexpensive, accessible and exhibits remarkable thermal performance. However, local residents stopped implementing traditional rammed earth building technology because of several limitations. An innovative rammed earth construction approach suitable for Southwest rural China has been developed by One University One Village (1U1V) Team. The “local material, local technology, local labour” principle and the “high-science-low-technology” strategy has been used to improve the safety, quality and dignity of the living environment without adding substantial environmental load (negative aspects of environmental impact). The Terra Centre has been built in Kunming as the working base to research, promote, train and knowledge transfer. This holistic strategy creatively mended the long-term environmental, economic, and social sustainable development of poor rural areas and contributed to the local endogenous development significantly. It also responds to multiple targets of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
... This research question can provide valuable suggestions for hotel interior environment design, which is beneficial to the development of China's tourism industry. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the United States has defined indoor environmental quality (IEQ), including the comprehensive psychological and physiological effects of five aspects of acoustic, thermal, light environment, air quality, and non-light visual factors on the residents [4]. Studies have shown that the values hotel customers care about most are seven dimensions, including thermal environment comfort, visual environment comfort, and indoor air quality [5,6]. ...
The purpose of this study is to explore the occupants’ subjective evaluation of the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of hotels with the same physical environment and different decoration styles, and to reveal the influence of different decoration styles on the subjective evaluation of the indoor environmental quality. The study found a hotel with three mainstream styles of modern simple style, British pastoral style, and modern Japanese style, and adopted standard rooms with the same area, pattern, lighting, orientation, and decoration cost. The only variable controlled was the decoration style, and the subjective feelings of customers on the physical environment were investigated. Based on the literature and 604 online comments, the researchers designed a questionnaire and collected 710 effective questionnaires for empirical analysis. The analysis results of KH coder and SPSS software (Chicago, IL, USA) show that the light environment in the indoor environment (including indoor natural lighting, lighting and other influencing factors) and non-light visual factors (including indoor color matching, plant layout, closeness to nature, decoration texture, space materials, decoration atmosphere and other factors) has the greatest impact on the subjective evaluation of decoration style, especially on the subjective evaluation of modern simple indoor environment. Light environment, air quality and non-light visual factors play a key role in the subjective evaluation of the indoor environment of the British pastoral-style hotels. The light environment, thermal environment and non-light visual factors are the most sensitive to the subjective evaluation of the indoor environment of modern Japanese-style hotels. Thermal environment, light environment, acoustic environment, air quality environment and non-light visual factors have the greatest impact on the subjective evaluation of the hotel indoor environment. Based on the findings, this study puts forward some suggestions to improve the interior environment of the hotel with different decoration styles to improve the quality and attractiveness of the hotel.
... The shape is like the Chinese character '金' (gold) and can be seen in Figure 2. Therefore, the architectural styles in traditional villages are the same and arranged in the same direction, and "cold lanes" are formed between buildings [24,25]. Research has shown that the residents in Tulou (earth building) had better satisfaction with the indoor thermal environment and overall indoor environmental quality than residents in normal rural buildings [26]. Building integrated photovoltaic was employed to optimize the solar energy application on the rooftop of traditional Lingnan buildings [27]. ...
The traditional rammed earth houses sharing similar patterns in the Lingnan region, south China, and distributed in rectangular arrays, are gradually losing their vitality and becoming uninhabited under modern living conditions. This research examined a typical pattern called the “Four-point gold” house and analyzed the suitability of different retrofitting technologies by field measurements and building simulation. To optimize energy consumption, indoor thermal comfort, and the corresponding economic performance of the retrofitting measures for the prototypical house, five measures, including wall insulation, reflective roof coating, carpet, sunshade, and natural ventilation, are proposed after considering the status quo of the building envelope. It is found that the best performance in energy-saving, dynamic investment payback period, and annual indoor thermal comfort are 2192.27 kWh/a, 9.17 years, and 1766 h, respectively. Different parameters are included to be clustered by K means clustering technique, and the comprehensively optimized scheme consists of a regime of 30 mm XPS 30 mm, ZS-221 white coating, carpet, 0.5 m sunshade width, and turning off windows (doors). The proposed retrofitting strategy can be promoted to a wide range of traditional rammed earth houses in the Lingnan region in China and holds a conspicuous energy-saving potential for the suburban and rural residential sectors in the region.
... In fact, indoor temperature fluctuations in a Tulou are more moderate than the outdoor temperature and are even lower than those in a modern rural building constructed with concrete or brick. According to an investigation by Li et al. [38], when the outdoor temperature ranged from 23.0 to 35.0 • C on 4 August 2011, the indoor temperature in a Tulou was 26.0-28.0 • C, whereas, in a modern building, it was 25.1-31.0 ...
Environmental adaptation is essential for maintaining a building’s indoor environmental quality and performance. This paper is focused on heritage regeneration research of the sustainable paradigm of Fujian Tulous in China. These earthen dwellings were built hundreds of years ago and were proven to be conventional green buildings today. However, few researchers have clarified or specified regenerative approaches for Tulous in response to realistic demands and sustainable concerns. Our study surveyed 10 non-world-heritage Tulou cases in Nanjing County, Fujian Province, China. Environmental adaptation in the Tulou archetype was analysed through an intensive review and field investigation to explain how they interacted with local climatic conditions. This article analysed the green effects of building components on five passive design strategies—thermal comfort, solar shading, natural lighting, ventilation, and waterproofing—and then proposed conceptual design strategies based on three aspects: reshaping building envelopes, reorganising spatial layouts, and using innovative construction materials and techniques. The conclusions indicated that, to realise the sustainable generation goals of non-world-heritage Tulous, environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural issues have to be considered, among which environmental adaptation should be a primary approach.
... China statistical yearbook (NBS 2019a) China statistical yearbook of construction 1996-2021 (NBS 2021) Policy research on construction waste recycling and reutilization (China Architecture Design and Research Institute 2014) Investigation on waste disposal of several typical construction projects (Luo et al. 2009) Annual report on the comprehensive utilization of resources in China (NDRC 2014) Micro-database of national sample survey data on 1% population in 2015 Completed building floor area Material use intensity Energy use intensity of material production Energy use intensity of material transportation Energy use intensity of on-site construction Emissions factor of energy use China statistical yearbook (NBS 2019a) China statistical yearbook of construction (NBS 2021) China energy statistical yearbook (NBS 2019b) Literature review on case study of building material use intensity and embodied energy of building material (Gu 2009; Peng 2012; Yi and He 2015) Population, urbanization rate, household number China statistical yearbook 2006-2021 (NBS 2019a) Urban residential buildings floor area, energy intensity, and key influencing factors Household on-site/online surveys conducted by BERC (Guo et al. 2015; Hu et al. 2016, 2017, 2020c; Zhang et al. 2021) Micro database of national Sample survey data of 1% population in 2015 (Tsinghua China Data Center 2021) Case study monitoring of heating, coolingHu et al. 2020c), domestic hot waterFeng et al. 2017;Zhou et al. 2022) Equipment/appliance monitoring big data from manufacturersQian et al. 2020Qian et al. , 2021 Rural residential buildings floor area, energy intensity, and key influencing factors On-site household survey and interviewLi et al. 2013;Chen and Yang 2015;Shan et al. 2015) Monitoring and case study(Li et al. 2012;Shan et al. 2015) Public and commercial buildings floor area, energy intensity, and key influencing factors BERC monitoring and case study(Xiao et al. 2012;Deng et al. 2019Deng et al. , 2020 Disclosure report of public building energy platform(Shanghai Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Management Committee and Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020 ...
The building sector is one of the largest energy user and carbon emitter globally. To achieve China’s national carbon target, the building sector in China needs to achieve carbon peaking and neutrality targets by 2030 and 2060, respectively. However, data deficiency on building energy and emissions become barriers for tracking the status of building energy and emissions, and identify potential opportunities for achieving dual carbon targets. To address these shortcomings, this study established an integrated China Building Energy and Emission Model (CBEEM). With CBEEM, this study evaluated the building-construction and building-operation energy and emissions in China, and revealed the status quo and potential challenge and opportunities. According to modelling results, building operation energy use of China was 1.06 billion tce in 2020, accounting for 21% of China’s total primary energy consumption. Building construction energy consumption was 0.52 billion tce in 2020, accounting for another 10% of total primary energy consumption. Key messages found on building carbon emissions are: building construction embodied emissions were 1.5 billion tCO2 in 2020 and are declining slowly, building operational carbon emissions were 2.2 billion tCO2 in 2020 and are still increasing. International comparisons between China and other countries on building stock, energy use intensity and carbon emission intensity were conducted as well, and help shed a light on the challenges for decarbonization of China’s building sector. Finally, technology perspectives to achieve carbon neutrality target were discussed and related policy suggestions were provided.
... More than 39% of the participating occupants reported feeling neither hot nor cold in historic buildings as compared with air-conditioned modern-day structures. Another comparative investigation between contemporary and heritage buildings was made by Li et al. [13]. The study confirmed that traditional structures show higher performance in terms of thermal comfort. ...
The adaptive reuse of historic buildings, as well as the maintenance of their optimal indoor environments for structural and collections preservation, are inherently complex, multifaceted goals. Moreover, indoor environments do not only affect collections and building—the occupants’ satisfaction must also be considered. In this study, a field investigation of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) particularly focused on thermal comfort following a Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) process applied to a case study where a combination of microclimate monitoring and questionnaire surveys were carried out during the problematic cooling season in the hot and humid climate of San Antonio, Texas (USA). Mission Concepción de Acuña (part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is a unique historic settlement that includes a limestone church which reflects a similar typology to multiple religious buildings distributed across the southwestern USA. Results of these investigations show that: i) the current indoor environment did not always achieve occupants’ thermal satisfaction, displaying thermal discomfort when the indoor/outdoor thermal leap is larger (August and September); ii) Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) values were considerably different throughout the monitoring period, with TSV mostly included within the (−1, 0, +1) band and PMV mainly within the (−2, −3) band; iii) impact of occupant age, gender and clothing on TSV values is limited. Finally, outcomes of this article underline the limitations of Fanger’s model when applied to such typology of buildings, highlighting the necessity for more investigation in this topic.
... Soebarto [4] conducted temperature tests on uninsulated raw earth dwellings and found that the indoor ambient temperature was only 8-12.5 • C during the cold season, making indoor thermal comfort undesirable. Some researchers used slag, water glass, and plant fibers to optimize the thermal performance of RE materials [15][16][17][18][19][20][21], but the range of thermal conductivity of RE materials was 0.3634 to 0.7838 W/(m K) [18,22,23], which does not meet the regulatory requirements in China for cold areas. Though some other scholars have improved the thermal performance of RE buildings by combining them with passive designs such as glazing, shading, and ventilation, yielding positive effects on building energy consumption [24,25], the poor thermal insulation of RE materials is a problem yet to be solved. ...
Rammed earth(RE) is a low-tech recyclable building material with good heat storage and moisture absorption performance that can better maintain the stability of the indoor thermal environment and improve indoor comfort. With innovations in and the development of new technology, the field of rammed earth construction technology is gradually expanding. However, deficiencies in the thermal insulation of traditional rammed earth structures make it impossible for them to meet China’s building energy codes in cold regions. This study constructs a comprehensive evaluation index of the thermal performance of rammed earth walls that is based on the heat transfer mechanism, optimizing the thickness of the boundary conditions of the building interior’s design temperature, as well as the energy demand and economic efficiency. This research also offers a new design for the thermal insulation of rammed earth construction by combining the building energy savings design code with WUFI Pro software. This study demonstrates that the optimum thickness of rammed earth construction in Beijing is about 360 mm, the thickness of extruded polystyrene board (XPS) is 50 mm (for public buildings) and 70 mm (for residential buildings), and the structural form of external insulation offers the highest performance benefit. In addition, this work also evaluates the risk of condensation inside composite rammed earth construction, finding that there is a risk of condensation on the exterior side of the wall and at the interface between the insulation panels and rammed earth wall, thus requiring an additional moisture-proof layer. In this study, thermal mass and insulation are fully considered and a design strategy for rammed earth construction given quantitatively, providing a theoretical basis for the application of rammed earth materials in cold regions.
... 49 A study in a humid subtropical region (following the Köppen classification) of China compared the indoor environmental perceptions of residents of 'Tulou' rammed earth heritage buildings with those of modern rural buildings. 50 This found that the heritage building residents had higher perceptions of comfort than the modern building residents. Field measurements confirmed that the heritage buildings also had better actual performance across a range of indicators, as well as 28% lower energy usage. ...
Significant energy and carbon originate in the existing built environment and retrofit is therefore a key carbon reduction strategy. However heritage buildings -comprising around 20% of UK buildings- are challenging to retrofit appropriately due to their historical values and traditional construction. Retrofit carbon savings are dependent on current energy use which is strongly influenced by residents’ behaviours, and retrofit decisions for domestic heritage are generally the responsibility of homeowners. Therefore both residents’ views and behaviours are important for effective retrofit strategies. However behaviours are rarely considered in standard energy models and residents’ views are often overlooked in heritage retrofit policy. This paper analyses a survey of the views, values and behaviours of 147 residents of pre-1940 buildings. The majority are found to strongly value their homes’ heritage and mainly view exterior building alterations negatively. However residents’ heritage values and acceptable retrofits, frequently differ from those of experts and policy makers. Residents report actively engaging in several positive energy behaviours and many have already undertaken common carbon saving measures. These findings imply that, for effective carbon reduction from heritage buildings, policy and legislation needs to extend beyond current definitions of ‘heritage’ and acknowledge residents’ complex values, motivations and energy behaviours.
... In most cases by addressing their mechanical performance [15][16][17]. The analysis of thermal performance of earth-based materials has been also widely studied in the literature [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Recently, Narayanaswamy et al. [18] concluded that thermal conductivities of these materials using the processed ground blast furnace slag were noticeably lower. ...
The use of natural materials has become more important as a result of the growing need to conserve energy, exploit renewable materials, and incorporate architecture and construction into sustainable methods of production. Accordingly, the present work investigates the engineering properties of a new earthen building material. This proposal is based on traditional unfired earthen masonry and consists of compressed earth blocks stabilised with natural polymers and wool fibers for use as insulating and structural load-bearing walls in buildings. The conducted experimental study enabled us to determine the mechanical performance, thermal conductivity, noise mitigation, modulus of elasticity, porosity percentage , and diameter through mercury intrusion porosimetry. The influence of soil characteristics on thermophysical and acoustic properties of tested material were investigated. The experimental data show good efficiency and a significant improvement in the engineering properties of these materials compared to traditional compressed earth blocks. In this research, a comprehensive analysis of the interaction of different properties is proposed as an assessment methodology that could be applied to any kind of stabilised soil material. The correlation of the results, being the type of soil the only variable of the analyzed samples, has allowed identifying sample key features and tests so as to obtain the best mechanical, thermal and acoustic performances.
... For instance, the characteristics of adaptive thermal comfort were investigated in Guangzhou [10], Nanjing [9], Changsha [11], Tianjin [12], Beijing [13,14], Xi'an [14], Harbin [15,16], Tibet [17], etc. Several field measurements on indoor thermal environment were also carried out to evaluate the effects of climate responsive strategies in vernacular dwellings [18][19][20][21][22]. However, most of these studies were aimed at human thermal comfort in modern urban residential and public buildings [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] in Eastern China with hot and humid, cold or severe cold climate. ...
Recently, the construction of energy efficiency buildings has been one of the main objectives of sustainable development, especially for areas with extreme climate. In present study, the adaptive thermal comfort and climate responsive strategies in dry–hot and dry–cold areas were investigated with field measurement and questionnaire in the Turpan basin, China. First, the adaptive thermal comfort model was established to reveal the relationship between indoor thermal comfort conditions and outdoor climate. Then, the climate responsive strategies which helped residents adapt to harsh climate were concluded. The prototype of climate responsive dwellings is proposed. Finally, the effects of these strategies were investigated by field measurement of indoor thermal environment in two demonstration houses and evaluated by the proposed thermal comfort model. The results showed that residents in the Turpan basin exhibited better adaptability to the hot climate than the cold climate with the upper limits of 80% acceptability reaching 34 °C. The heavy structure envelope and constructional patterns based on the thermal adaptive behaviors of residents could improve indoor thermal environment. In summer, semi-basement was the most effective strategy to satisfy human thermal comfort, followed by night ventilation. The indoor air temperature in semi-basement was around 31 °C while outdoor temperature exhibited diurnal variation of 15.7 °C from 28.6 °C to 44.3 °C. In winter, passive solar heating and semi-basement were both effective. The indoor air temperature was higher in the bedroom located at the south semi-basement compared with other rooms. The study can provide new thoughts for designing climate friendly buildings in dry-hot and dry-cold areas.
... The main climate adaptive measures adopted in traditional dwellings include choosing reasonable form design and site location, optimizing building structure, improving the indoor natural ventilation and renovating suitable roof. At present, many researchers are engaged in related researches [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] . Nowadays, many scholars focused on the environmental adaptability of traditional dwellings by testing the acoustic, luminous and thermal environment of the traditional dwellings. ...
The acceleration of urbanization and the growth of population are considered to be the reasons of increasing demands for construction, life quality and energy consumption. This leads to more research in climate adaptive strategies such as traditional design methods, construction techniques and building materials. Traditional dwelling has been successful in achieving harmony between dwelling and climatic environment, which is one of the most important conditions for sustainability. Firstly, this paper focused on analyzing the characteristics of traditional dwellings in Qinba mountainous areas to adapt to the climatic environment. Secondly, two typical dwellings constructed respectively with brick and earth materials were selected for monitoring and simulating of its indoor thermal, luminous and ventilation environment in summer and winter. In addition, the research summarized the advantages and disadvantages of the dwelling's physical environment in response to climatic characteristics. It revealed that the traditional earth dwelling is well adapted to the local climate during summer, although the indoor thermal comfort is not fully satisfactory during winter. Finally, we prompted effective climate adaptive strategies of traditional earth dwelling, such as natural ventilation, thermal insulation and thermal buffer space. We want to provide guidance and reference for the development of traditional dwellings in the mountainous areas.
... Moreover stratification and insufficient lighting and in several cases poor acoustics and poor performing heating system are common (e.g. Balocco & Calzolari, 2008;Li, You, Chen, & Yang, 2013;Varas-Muriel, Martínez-Garrido, & Fort, 2014). Rohdin et al. (2012) studied indoor climate during winter in a town hall in Sweden that provided space for offices as well as city archives. ...
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/ePyGtxY7299tVGGtyryS/full?target=10.1080/17512549.2019.1604428
Envelopes with low thermal performance are common characteristics in European historic buildings, causing higher energy demand and insufficient thermal comfort. This paper presents the results of a study on indoor environmental quality (IEQ), with special focus on thermal comfort, in the historic City Hall of Gävle, Sweden, now used as an office building. There are two modern heat recovery ventilation systems with displacement ventilation supply devices. The district heating network heats the building via pre-heat supply air and radiators. Summer cooling comes from electric heat pump ejecting heat into the exhaust ventilation air. A building management system (BMS) controls the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment. The methodology included on-site measurements, BMS data logging and evaluating the occupants’ perception of a summer and a winter period indoor environment using a standardized questionnaire. In conclusion, indoor environmental quality in this historic building is unsatisfactory. Stuffy air, too high, too low and varying room temperatures, lighting problems and noise are constant issues. Although it is equipped with modern ventilation systems, there are still possibilities for improving thermal comfort by improved control strategies, since upgrading the building’s envelope is not allowed according to the Swedish Building Regulations in historic buildings with heritage value.
... Buildings are expected to provide comfortable indoor environments to their occupants (Hui et al. 2006) given the growing body of evidence associating indoor environments to human health (e.g. Kraus et al. 2015;Wong et al. 2014;Kolokotsa and Santamouris 2015;Du et al. 2015;Li et al. 2013). This has led to increased focus on indoor environmental quality (IEQ) over the years, particularly as it relates to green buildings (Wei et al. 2015). ...
There are claims to the superior indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of green
buildings in comparison with similar conventional ones, making them more attractive
buildings to people given the time they spend indoors. A review of the literature
reveals little empirical evidence to substantiate such claims, especially for residential
buildings. The few research studies that focused on residential buildings used less
comprehensive methods and evaluated fewer IEQ aspects than the ones focusing on
other types of buildings. To address these limitations, this research reports on the
development of a comprehensive methodology using a mixed-method approach to
evaluate IEQ and occupants’ satisfaction in green and conventional homes. The
methodology consists of physical measurements of IEQ (i.e. thermal comfort, air
quality, acoustics, and lighting), field observations, an occupants’ survey, and
interviews with key members of the building design team and facility managers. The
proposed methodology will be piloted to a green and conventional home with the aim
of validating it before it’s deployed on a wider scale to a much larger sample of
conventional and green homes. This pilot study is expected to demonstrate the
reliability of the methodology, given its reliance on objective (i.e. IEQ physical
measurements) and subjective (i.e. survey and interviews) research methods.
Indoor Environmental Quality, Green Buildings, Conventional Buildings, LEED,
Mixed-Methods Research
... During a field investigation of indoor environmental quality in Tulous, residents reported greater satisfaction with their indoor thermal environment and overall indoor environmental quality than ordinary rural residents. In general, measurement results of indoor thermal, luminous, acoustic environment and air quality were consistent with those from the subjective perceptions of the residents (Li, You, Chen, & Yang, 2013). Additionally, the overall environmental load within the context of current environmental standards (using the Japanese Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency) was assessed for Tulous. ...
China's Fujian Tulou (earthen buildings constructed dating to the 12th century) represent a valuable source of human cultural heritage. As the Tulou have not been classified as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, they lack financial support, receive minimal attention and face structural deterioration. The purpose of this study is to explore a methodological approach to assess the value of non-World Heritage Tulou (NWHT) and provide grounds for the reuse of Tulou accordingly. First, building-type, planar layout and other characteristics of NWHTs in Pinghe are reviewed. Next, an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is applied to the value evaluation of Pinghe Tulou. Then, policy recommendations for reuse and redevelopment are put forward. The findings suggest that focusing on the reuse of Tulou alone is not justifiable. Rather, funding, public participation and the continuity of community life are important factors relating to the reuse of NWHTs.
... Soil and/or earthen materials have been used for construction purpose for thousands years; and nowadays, approximately one half of the world's population still live in earthen buildings [7,9]. Compared with some common building envelope materials, i.e. fired clay bricks and concrete, earthen materials have a larger moisture capacity [10]. This can be explained from that earthen materials are typical porous materials that have a moisture storage capability caused by single layer adsorption, multi-layer adsorption and capillary condensation [11]. ...
... This has recently stimulated researchers' interest in studying indoor environmental conditions of this type of construction. Li et al. [28,29] carried out two studies comparing occupants' thermal comfort sensations in historic and new rural buildings in China. The results showed better thermal satisfaction in the historic buildings when compared with the modern buildings. ...
With attention increasingly shifting toward adaptation and energy upgrade of existing and historic buildings, research on Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) has grown notably in recent years. School buildings are a significant asset to the European building stock and an important field of investigation because of the peculiarities of the end users and the impact of indoor environmental conditions on their health and productivity. Building on recent literature, particularly the method of Povl Ole Fanger, this research presents the results of a quantitative and qualitative study performed to assess the thermal comfort conditions of a primary school located in a historic building in Villar del Arzobispo, Spain. As the study involves six and seven-year-old pupils, appropriate questionnaires for subjective thermal comfort evaluation were defined with the pedagogical support of the teachers, who also took part in the research and helped deliver the surveys to the children. The Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Percentage of Dissatisfied (PD) were then calculated for the evaluation of thermal comfort from measurements and questionnaires, for both pupils and teachers, using the classroom as a sample size. The results show a difference between pupils' and teachers' subjective opinions, with the children displaying a higher and more-difficult-to-reach threshold for indoor thermal comfort.
This study reveals retailers’ perception of and their preference to some selected IEQ factors in relation to their workplace. Retailers of two types of malls (mixed-mode ventilated and Air conditioned malls) were studied under the following objectives: 1) To determine the retailers’ perception of some IEQ factors in each mall, and 2) To develop a pattern of the impact of retailers’ perception of some IEQ factors on their overall workplace satisfaction using the Kano satisfaction model. A subjective IEQ measurement was carried out and descriptive analysis was done on retailers’ responses to reveal their level of satisfaction after which a regression analysis was carried out on their perception of some IEQ factors. The results revealed that the air-conditioned ventilated mall recorded the highest mean satisfaction votes. Results also indicated that retailers in the mixed-mode ventilated malls considered air movement within their workplace as a necessity as the negative influence has a greater impact (regression coefficient 3.35*, -4.29*) on overall satisfaction. However, the absolute magnitude of the impact between satisfied and dissatisfied groups is not significantly different, thus, ‘air movement’ in the mixed-mode ventilated malls is categorized as proportional factor. Whereas, retailers in the AC mall responded to satisfactory air movement as something not expected (regression coefficient 3.27**, -2.19NS). On the other hand, retailers in the AC mall expected a controlled environment like theirs to thermally satisfy its occupants. Findings from this study will provide a better understanding of workers’ expectations and concerns with regard to their indoor environmental conditions.
This study presents the CO2 emissions and energy performance of traditional raw earth dwellings’ envelope retrofitting located in the Zhushan Village, western Hunan Province, China. The numerical simulations of heating energy consumption on the building models were performed using DesignBuilder, an energy simulation program. The energy performance was evaluated using the indexes (including energy consumption, CO2 emissions, heat balance analysis, and air temperature profiles). The detailed evaluation process of the energy performance is presented as follows. First, the current situation was analyzed through the field research, and two typical building models were built. Second, all schemes were simulated using the DesignBuilder software. Subsequently, the four main retrofit measures (replacing the external insulation windows, setting the external wall insulation layer, setting the roof insulation layer, and setting the ceiling insulation layer) were analyzed, respectively. The optimal parameters of the respective retrofit measure were calculated. Lastly, a multi-objective optimization analysis was conducted on all retrofit plans using the coupling method. In the winter, the results indicated that the “I-shape” dwelling heat consumption of the enclosure structure was reduced by 12.8 kW·h/m2, and the CO2 emissions were reduced by 882.8 kg. While in the benchmark building, the results showed that the “L-shape” dwelling heat consumption of the enclosure structure was decreased by 13.27 kW·h/m2, and the CO2 emissions were reduced by 894.4 kg. As the renewal scheme has been progressively implemented, the whole Zhushan Village will save energy by 11.2 × 104 kW·h after the insulation renewal of the envelope structure is completed.
This study aimed to summarize the characteristics of indoor physical environment (i.e., air temperature, sound level, and illuminance) in natural ventilation season of rural residences in Jinhua (southeast China) and Harbin (northeast China). In this regard, the one-month indoor physical environment in 12 typical rural housings were simultaneously monitored by conducting a series of field measurements. The fluctuations of indoor physical environment in these two regions were presented and the convergence of environmental data distribution was also analyzed. Subsequently, Predicted Probability Overall Dissatisfied (PPOD), which provides an estimate of how many occupants in a space would feel dissatisfied with the overall physical environment, was calculated by using our previous quantitative measure, to assess the overall indoor physical environmental quality. Meanwhile, a clustering algorithm, named Density Peaks Clustering Algorithm was adopted to determine categories of the overall environment quality based on PPOD. Results showed that the indoor air temperature in Jinhua mainly concentrated between 22 °C and 28 °C, and that in Harbin concentrated between 24 °C and 28 °C; sound level in these two regions is in a range of 41 dB–42.5 dB; illuminance in Harbin is 200–750 Lx, and that in Jinhua is 50–300 Lx. Moreover, it indicated that the distribution of air temperature in northeast China converge to the random one whose observation duration is 21days. One-month distribution of measured sound level in these two regions can be normally represented by a random one whose observation duration is a week. Besides, according to the clustering results, the common environmental quality can be evaluated by four categories, A, B, C and D. It shows that the IPEQ of rural housings in northeast is grade C and most in northeast is better than grade C. Thereafter, some improvement suggestions for IPEQ were put forward. Our research will be beneficial to know environmental quality in natural ventilation season of rural housings in China.
Opening windows for ventilation in summer is an essential means to improve the indoor thermal environment and enhance comfort. At present, there are much researches on the factors affecting the occupants’ window-opening behavior, and the research on their optimization strategies is relatively scarce. This paper selects 13 typical climate cities in Xinjiang, uses LBT to simulate natural ventilation through parametric modeling and conducts experimental verification. The results show that the parametric model has high fitting accuracy (RMSE<0.8, R²>0.9). Subsequent optimization using GA in an optimized solution for summer open windows suitable for all parts of Xinjiang. Southern Xinjiang has the most significant increase in comfort, followed by northern Xinjiang and the smallest in eastern Xinjiang. The most effective (47.3%) is in Korla, southern Xinjiang. Through verification and comparison with related research, the optimized solution has good generalization ability and flexibility. The research results show that the optimal ventilation strategy significantly improves indoor comfort in rural areas in this region. This paper provides an effective tool and idea for studying the aspects of increasing the efficiency of the use of natural ventilation.
This study describes the numerical analyses of the indoor air temperature of the earth building located in dry-hot and dry-cold area in order to evaluate the effects of the passive design parameters on the indoor environment and then determine the optimal values of the design parameters. Firstly, a short-term monitoring was performed in an existing earth building, aiming to validate the numerical building model developed by using an advanced simulation software EnergyPlus. Then a series of regional studies on the effect of building parameters on indoor environment of the earth building were investigated and the simulated results indicated that four design parameters, i.e. building orientation, window to wall area ratio, projection factor of window shading and external wall thickness, exhibit the distinctly impacts on the indoor thermal environment in winter and summer. Next, a back propagation (BP) neural network model with ten neurons in the hidden layer was established using Matlab R2016a to predict the indoor environment, and the degree discomfort hours (DDH) in winter and summer were calculated as the output data. Finally, the itemized intensive scanning technique was used to successively select the values of the passive parameters in their range and the predicted results indicated that the optimal passive parameters are 6 degrees east of south, 18.20 %, 0.66 and 643 mm, respectively.
Today, about 35% of global energy consumption and related carbon dioxide emissions are caused by the construction sector. This paper evaluates and compares the life cycle energy consumption (LCEC) and carbon dioxide emissions (LCCE) of a heritage building (BT1) constructed in 1875, a new building (BT2) constructed with modern constructional elements with similar plans of the heritage building and the heritage building after the restoration and refurbishment (BT3) by using real data from the construction site of a real project in Gaziantep, Turkey. It is calculated that, the operational phase was dominant over the buildings lifespan and BT1 has the highest operational energy consumption. LCEC and LCCE of the BT1, BT2 and BT3 are calculated to be 102.63, 70.13, 78.07 GJ/m², and 14.18, 9.75 and 10.06 tons of CO2 per m² (tCO2/m²), respectively. With current techniques and methodologies the refurbishment and restoration of the heritage building increases the embodied energy (EE) by 56.6%. Selection of appropriate construction materials for refurbishment of heritage buildings is an important procedure that prevents excessive increment of EE and related emissions. Sustainable structural restoration of heritage buildings should be performed by using appropriate methodologies observing the conservation principles of history, energy and environment.
Directive (EU) 2018/844 amending Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency were to be implemented by European Union member states by March 2020. In particular, an explicit reference to existing historical buildings and contexts appeared for the first time in paragraph 18 of the cited Directive 844. This requires member states to encourage research into and the testing of new solutions to improve the energy performance of historical buildings and sites, while also safeguarding and preserving cultural heritage. At last, at European level, there is a sense of awareness of the importance of historical buildings and contexts that architectural, technical–construction and environmental values must be protected and preserved. To date, in fact, the current legislation has revealed deep issues over time, which has become extremely evident during the post-earthquake reconstruction. In this context, issues and practices that focus on sustainable process should be embraced. This theoretical position supports the introduction of principles that will allow the use of what technology offers and all the scientific and technical knowledge now widely available. The implementation of sustainability policies must be based on local knowledge and conditions that allow the highlighting of environmental issues and energy-efficient possibilities. This chapter presents a methodology applied to the city of L’Aquila that allows for the identification of homogeneous areas with regard to environmental behaviour, in which specific strategies could be implemented. These strategies take into consideration the analysis of the values, the transformable elements, the new users’ needs, the level of damage as well as the latest technological solutions in the field of environmental sustainability. In this way, compatible design solutions will be identified and developed based on a sensitive case-by-case approach to the repair and reconstruction of historic buildings damaged during a disaster event.
Earth is one of the oldest and till now intensively used natural building material. Around 30% of the world population still lives or works in buildings constructed out of earth. Most of them dwell in simple huts of rural communities or traditionally hand-crafted buildings. However, a growing number of people looking for healthy, environmentally friendly buildings in so called developed societies experience benefits of earthen construction materials. Due to the hygrothermal potential of clay, these benefits of earthen constructions include evaporative cooling during cooling periods and stable relative humidity levels indoors during the heating season. In addition, earthen building materials may contribute to the urgently needed circular economy, as earthen constructions like earth blocks or earth dry boards are reusable and earth plasters and mortars are replasticisable through the addition of water, as long as no chemical binder is added. Research gaps regarding physical properties, missing standardisation concerning building law and modern construction methods, and a limited number of manufacturers are hindering a wide application of earthen construction worldwide. Meanwhile, new digital production techniques evolve, which may elicit the potential of earth as future building material. Therefore, this Ten Questions article presents the state-of-the art and research gaps related to earth as building material in light of the potential of new digital production techniques like robotic fabrication or additive manufacturing. Such discussion includes new opportunities to combine the natural performance of the material with future-oriented construction systems and a new growing circular economy.
The rural living environment, especially for thermal environment and air quality, has always been concerned during the heating period. This study conducted a field measurement and questionnaire survey of indoor air quality in five villages in the cold rural coastal region of Qingdao, China. This area experiences the more extreme weather conditions, compared to the inland region. The sixty rural buildings were selected, while the basic characteristics, heating methods, indoor thermal environment, and air quality were recorded. Results showed the main heating method is the coal-fired stove combined with other radiators. The neutral values of indoor air temperature and relative humidity are 13 °C and 40% for local residents, which are much less than the comfortable levels. However, local residents demonstrated the ability to independently regulate temperature and humidity levels to within comfortable levels. And The coal combustion increases the indoor smell intensity and pollute indoor air. The CO2 concentration can be up to 1015.47 ppm and 690.78 ppm in rooms with and without the stove in the activity room respectively, while PM2.5 concentration can reach up to 199.6ug/m³ and 62.9ug/m³ respectively. These concentration values are much higher than the relative standards and the present air quality is very harmful to the human health.
Hakka Tulou is a famous local earth construction, which is included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage buildings. To the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of thorough research into the microclimate characteristics of Hakka Tulou. In this study, we investigated the microclimate characteristics in the Hezhou Hakka Tulou. The indoor thermal sensation of the enclosure in warm circumstances was approximately equal to that of cool circumstances. However, the indoor thermal environment of Hakka Tulou could be improved by outer guard structures. In summer, the corridor structure allows for cooling down of the indoor air temperature, while the patio structure has the advantage of dehumidification. However, in winter, the building envelope has the advantages of thermal insulation and moisture-proofing. The location of higher wind speed in summer was mainly orientated from the center of the Hakka Tulou; however, this center appeared in the patio space. Such special environmental factors may be useful for the purpose of warmth in winter and coolness in summer. Furthermore, the patios of the Hakka Tulou effectively improved the lighting coefficient and illumination in the courtyard. However, the daylighting capacities of the inner rooms were considerably lower than those in the outer rooms.
Purpose – A review of 67 articles in the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) literature published from 2010 to 2020 reveals that none of prior studies have determined the IEQ of physical retailers and its impact on consumers. To fill such a gap, this study investigates the influence of physical retailers’ IEQ on consumer purchase intention. The mediating roles of hedonic experience and perceived brand value (PBV) in this
relationship are also determined. Furthermore, the moderating effect of perceived service quality (PSQ) on the link between physical retailers’ IEQ and PBV is clarified in this study.
Design/methodology/approach – This study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze a sample data of 996 consumers in China.
Findings – Results show that physical retailers’ IEQ has a positive impact on consumer purchase intention. Hedonic experience mediates the link between IEQ and purchase intention. PBV also mediates the relationship between IEQ and purchase intention and that between hedonic experience and purchase intention. In addition, PSQ moderates the relationship between IEQ and PBV.
Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to determine the impact of IEQ on consumers in the physical retailer context. Specifically, this study enriches our knowledge about the relationship between physical retailers’ IEQ and consumer purchase intention with the mediating and moderating mechanisms of hedonic experience, PBV and PSQ. The findings fill the research gaps in the IEQ literature that has ignored the impact of IEQ on consumers’ perception and behavioral intention in the physical retailer context. Furthermore, this research provides evidence for retailer managers to understand and improve physical stores’ IEQ.
Modern rammed earth (RE) is an improvement of the traditional RE in terms of compacting skills and material preparation. In this study, a series of proper structural measures for RE buildings are proposed to enhance its structural integrities. To acquire/evaluate the seismic performance of these reinforced RE buildings, different typical structural styles are employed to construct two ½-scaled, single-story buildings for shaking table tests. Testing damage conditions and dynamic characteristics, including frequency, acceleration coefficient, and displacement response, are investigated. After a comparison of these factors for each specimen, a comprehensive evaluation of seismic performance is conducted. The results show a better coordination between these structural measures and RE walls during the whole loading process. Even if RE walls are separated into pieces at the later loading processes, these structural measures are still effective in restraining specimen deformation, moreover, the residual seismic capacity of each specimen can still undertake extra-lager earthquake excitations. After an overall consideration of the construction process at a site and the results of the shaking table tests, it is easy to draw conclusions that these inner reinforcements are suitable for RE buildings, and single-story inner reinforced RE buildings can be constructed widely in China.
Earth-based materials have been receiving a growing interest in recent years due to their “rediscovery” as eco-friendly building materials with great potential to increase energy efficiency. Despite this interest, however, there is a lack of reliable scientific research data regarding the thermal properties of earth-based materials, which would allow a deeper understanding of their environmental performance. This work reviews current approaches on the thermal properties of adobes, and their variation with density, through a comparative study of the literature and experimental results. The literature data presented in this paper have been taken from national earth construction-related standards and normative documents, technical documents, and scientific research studies. The experimental research includes measurements of the thermal properties of six adobe test samples produced in the lab using different types and proportions of fiber additives. Through this study it is demonstrated that adobes may need further improvements in terms of thermal insulation capacity to meet the current Cyprus thermal building regulations. A deeper understanding and further research on the dynamic thermal characteristics of earth-based materials, however, are needed in order to achieve a more accurate evaluation of the thermal performance of earthen buildings. Research results further indicate that the thermal properties of earth-based materials are highly correlated to their density. By altering density accordingly, the heat storage and insulating capacity of adobes can be “manipulated” in order to achieve compliance with national thermal regulations.
There is little empirical evidence in the literature about the indoor environmental quality performance of residential buildings in general and of social housing in particular. To address this problem, this study used a mixed-method approach to evaluate the indoor environmental quality performance of 17 green low-income single attached family houses in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Questionnaires were administered to occupants to assess their snapshot and long-term satisfaction with the indoor environment. In addition, snapshot measurements were carried out to evaluate the indoor environmental quality factors of thermal comfort, indoor air quality, lighting and acoustics. Occupants’ snapshot satisfaction was categorized into two groups (i.e. satisfied/comfortable or dissatisfied/uncomfortable) and compared with snapshot measurements. The results showed the measured IEQ parameters were well below recommended threshold levels. Further, occupants with higher snapshot satisfaction were generally exposed to relatively lower levels of indoor pollutants. A statistically significant difference was found in PM10 level only between the snapshot satisfied and snapshot dissatisfied groups of occupants. Apparent sound transmission classes were below the standard reference value of 50, suggesting potential problems in noise attenuation within different spaces in each apartment and between apartments. The findings of this study could help governments implement green shadowing for public-housing and also renovate existing houses using the same principles.
This paper demonstrates the architectural design of an energy-efficient sustainable single-family house with verified results of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and energy performance analyses. The main objective is to take advantage of local architecture by identifying and analysing the traditional design strategies and techniques that applied often in practice through making use of the natural environment to create efficient and sustainable building. The study reveals the importance of using the natural environmental forces as well as the topographic and climatic features that were incorporated into the architectural design, to achieve optimized building energy performance. The site’s topography with hilly features and climate with dry and diurnal temperature variations adds thermal advancements of the house design. The house utilizes sun energy, wind pressures and building envelope’s thermal properties by precisely integrating them into the design. The challenge of this design is to take advantage of traditional architectural techniques to minimize the need for mechanical systems.
In China, more than 100 million people live in earth-based dwellings currently. However, there have been few studies on measures for improving indoor thermal environment and decreasing energy consumption of adobe buildings systematically. So, this paper studied the measures mentioned above. Firstly, parameters such as indoor thermal environment, PMV, thermal properties and thermodynamic disfigurement of building envelope were measured and analyzed on a quadrangle adobe dwelling in Gansu, China. Then, three optimization schemes (transforming layout only, transforming external walls only and changing the two simultaneously) were put forward. Finally, the thermal environment and energy consumption of the optimization schemes were analyzed by numerical simulation, and the cost benefit analysis of them was carried out. Among those schemes, scheme of changing layout and external walls simultaneously leads to the best performance in both the two respects mentioned above, while scheme of transforming layout only gives the worst performance. But, when both taking consideration of economy and energy saving, the preferred plan is scheme of changing layout only, and the worst is scheme of transforming layout and external walls simultaneously. This study has been conducted to give guidance when constructing or reconstructing quadrangle adobe dwelling, which is distinctive and historical in China.
This paper introduces a field measurement of an indoor thermal environment in rural housing in suburban Beijing from December 2008 to March 2009. The indoor environment parameters such as air temperature, mean radiant temperature (MRT), airflow velocity and relative humidity are measured. A questionnaire survey of the occupants' thermal sensations in these surveyed houses is conducted and their daily activities and clothing conditions are recorded. The results show that the thermal neutral temperature of rural housing is 18.4°C, and the lower limit of acceptable temperature range can be extended to 10.9°C. The comfortable indoor temperature is affected by the occupants' clothing and lifestyle. Therefore, the indoor temperature standards of space heating for suburban housing cannot be simply duplicated from that for urban housing. Compared with occupants in suburban Beijing, it is found that the occupants in rural Hunan province feel colder at the same operative temperature due to the high relative humidity in Hunan province.
High volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations following building decoration have been observed frequently. In reality, however, residents do not know the indoor VOC concentration levels until the buildings are tested, which seldom provides a preventive measure. While several indoor air quality (IAQ) simulation programs have been developed to predict indoor contaminant levels, case studies in the literature are scarce regarding the predictability of indoor VOC concentrations as well as how such predictions could be performed in real buildings. In this paper, we intended to conduct a proof-of-concept study whether simulations can help to reveal some of the key features of VOC concentrations during indoor decoration process. We conducted a case study, simulated and measured the VOC concentrations of a residential unit during the room decoration process. Results show that while certain agreement was achieved between the measurement and simulation, application of IAQ models to real buildings is challenging under the best of circumstances—single zone spaces with very few emission materials inside.
Because human activities impact the timing, location, and degree of pollutant exposure, they play a key role in explaining exposure variation. This fact has motivated the collection of activity pattern data for their specific use in exposure assessments. The largest of these recent efforts is the National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS), a 2-year probability-based telephone survey (
n=9386) of exposure-related human activities in the United States (U.S.) sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The primary purpose of NHAPS was to provide comprehensive and current exposure information over broad geographical and temporal scales, particularly for use in probabilistic population exposure models. NHAPS was conducted on a virtually daily basis from late September 1992 through September 1994 by the University of Maryland's Survey Research Center using a computer-assisted telephone interview instrument (CATI) to collect 24-h retrospective diaries and answers to a number of personal and exposure-related questions from each respondent. The resulting diary records contain beginning and ending times for each distinct combination of location and activity occurring on the diary day (i.e., each microenvironment). Between 340 and 1713 respondents of all ages were interviewed in each of the 10 EPA regions across the 48 contiguous states. Interviews were completed in 63% of the households contacted. NHAPS respondents reported spending an average of 87% of their time in enclosed buildings and about 6% of their time in enclosed vehicles. These proportions are fairly constant across the various regions of the U.S. and Canada and for the California population between the late 1980s, when the California Air Resources Board (CARB) sponsored a state-wide activity pattern study, and the mid-1990s, when NHAPS was conducted. However, the number of people exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in California seems to have decreased over the same time period, where exposure is determined by the reported time spent with a smoker. In both California and the entire nation, the most time spent exposed to ETS was reported to take place in residential locations.
Taking two representative rural residences in Huzhou for example, continuous measurement of indoor and outdoor summer environment in the traditional and new-built residences in northern Zhejiang was taken and the difference between the two residences' indoor environment was analyzed. The results showed that the pressure ventilation and night cooling are the main responses of the traditional residence facing the hot and wet climate. The traditional residence has better thermal comfort indicator by the light wall and the courtyard ventilation than that in the new-built one with brick-concrete structure during the entire day-time except the afternoon. The window shield, courtyard, ventilation, and building envelope are the main facts of residential design in the ″new village construction″ to respond the climate.
World Heritage Site – Nanjing Tulou buildings, which were built of rammed earth and in a wooden framework, are large-scale civilian residential buildings distributed across the southeastern China. The information of energy consumption as well as its characteristics in Tulou buildings is however unavailable in the literature. In this study, a survey of energy consumption and indoor environmental quality in Nanjing Tulou buildings was conducted. Based on the data obtained by the survey and an energy consumption model, the characteristics of energy consumption, including energy consumption per household breakdown based on energy sources and usage, seasonal variation of energy consumption, and energy consumption distribution in Nanjing Tulou buildings were investigated by comparing the Tulou buildings with other normal rural buildings in that region. The results show that the total primary energy consumption per household in Nanjing Tulou buildings was 2.43 × 104 MJ/year, which was lower than that in normal rural buildings in the region (3.37 × 104 MJ/year). Furthermore, residents in Nanjing Tulou buildings responded with better thermal comfort than that in normal rural buildings. The reasons for the characteristics of energy consumption in Tulou buildings, such as influence of cooling and heating requirements and human behavior, were analyzed. The potential energy savings as well as the implications for future low-energy rural housing construction were discussed.
Adobe has been used as a construction material for hundreds of years, and even today, a great number of people still live in adobe houses in various parts of the world. This is for reasons of local availability and because buildings constructed from adobe can create healthier environments. As a case study, this paper analyses a building complex made primarily of adobe masonry and reinforced concrete. The complex, a country club located 35km from Istanbul, consists of a 19-room hotel, a restaurant, and a horse stable. Both the hotel and restaurant were constructed in two flats of locally produced adobe and have been in service since 1998. This paper describes the construction techniques and methods used to produce the adobe. It presents experimental tests of the mechanical and physical properties of the material, comparing to local construction standards and to the properties of other common building materials. Finally, the paper evaluates the suitability of adobe masonry construction for the Istanbul area.
A large scale national survey of energy consumption and indoor environment quality of China’s rural housing was conducted
from 2006–2007. The survey covered 15 provinces in northern China and 9 provinces in southern China. The survey data indicate
that excessive building energy consumption and poor indoor environment pose significant challenges to the sustainable development
of China’s rural housing. Possible causes are analyzed, the current status explained and possible development trends predicted.
Strategies for sustainable and environmentally appropriate energy development in rural areas are recommended with an example
of the “Zero-Coal, Low Energy Village”.
Keywordsrural energy-energy-saving-sustainability
The paper presents a field study of occupants’ thermal comfort and residential thermal environment conducted in an urban and a rural area in Hunan province, which is located in central southern China. The study was performed during the cold winter 2006. Twenty-eight naturally ventilated urban residences and 30 also naturally ventilated rural residences were investigated. A comparative analysis was performed on results from urban and rural residences. The mean thermal sensation vote of rural residences is approximately 0.4 higher than that of urban residences at the same operative temperature. Thermal sensation votes calculated by Fanger’s PMV model did not agree with these obtained directly from the questionnaire data. The neutral operative temperature of urban and rural residences is 14.0 and 11.5 °C, respectively. Percentage of acceptable votes of rural occupants is higher than that of urban occupants at the same operative temperature. It suggests that rural occupants may have higher cold tolerance than urban occupants for their physiological acclimatization, or have relative lower thermal expectation than urban occupants because of few air-conditioners used in the rural area. The research will be instrumental to researchers to formulate thermal standards for naturally ventilated buildings in rural areas.
We investigate wintertime indoor air quality and personal exposures to carbon monoxide (CO) in a rural village in Jilin province, where relatively homogeneous climatic and sociocultural factors facilitate investigation of household structural, fuel-related, and behavioral determinants of air pollution as well as relationships between different measures of air quality. Our time-resolved wintertime measurements of carbon monoxide and respirable particles (RSP) enable exploration of peak pollution periods in a village in Jilin Province, China, characterized by household use of both coal and biomass, as well as several "improved" (gas or electric) fuels. Our data indicate a 6-fold increase in peak 1 h PM (1.9 mg/m3) concentrations relative to 24 h mean PM (0.31 mg/m3). Peak 1 h CO concentrations (20.5 ppm) routinely approached and often (27%) exceeded the World Health Organization's 1 h guideline of 26 ppm, although the vast majority (95%) of kitchens were within China's residential indoor air quality guideline for CO on a 24 h basis. Choice of heating fuel and household smoking status were significant predictors of indoor air quality. Whether solid or "improved" (gas or electric) fuel was used for cooking had an even stronger effect, but in the opposite direction from expected, on both peak and daily average measures of air pollution. Peak pollution period concentrations of CO and PM were strongly correlated to daily concentrations of CO and RSP, respectively. Our results suggestthat due to the primary role of heating as a determinant of wintertime indoor air quality in northern Chinese villages, health-oriented interventions limited to provision of improved cooking fuel are insufficient. Our results illustrate that peak pollution periods may routinely exceed exposure regulations and evacuation limits, although this and previous studies document typical 24 h CO concentrations in rural Chinese kitchens to be within guidelines. Within a given village and for a given pollutant, daily pollutant concentrations may be strong predictors of peak pollution period concentrations.
Unlabelled:
In 2001-2003, a team of researchers from the United States and China performed an independent, multidisciplinary review of China's National Improved Stove Program carried out since the 1980s. As part of a 3500-household survey, a subsample of 396 rural households were monitored for particulate matter less than 4 microm (PM(4)) in kitchens and living rooms over 24 h, of which 159 were measured in both summer and winter. Carbon monoxide was measured in a 40% subsample. The results of this indoor air quality (IAQ) component indicate that for nearly all household stove or fuel groupings, PM(4) levels were higher than - and sometimes more than twice as high as - the national PM(10) standard for indoor air (150 microg PM(10)/m(3)). If these results are typical, then a large fraction of China's rural population is now chronically exposed to levels of pollution far higher than those determined by the Chinese government to harm human health. Further, we observed highly diverse fuel usage patterns in these regions in China, supporting the observations in the household survey of multiple stoves being present in many kitchens. Improved stoves resulted in reduced PM(4) from biomass fuel combinations, but still not at levels that meet standards, and little improvement was observed in indoor pollution levels when other unimproved stoves were present in the same kitchen. As many households change fuels according to daily and seasonal factors, resulting in different seasonal concentrations in living rooms and kitchens, assessing health implications from fuel use requires longitudinal evaluation of fuel use and IAQ levels, combined with accurate time-activity information.
Practical implications:
Leaving aside the difficult issue of enforcement, it is uncertain whether Chinese household IAQ standards represent realistic objectives for current attainment given current patterns of energy consumption in rural China, which rely so heavily on unprocessed solid fuels. Even when used with chimneys, these fuels emit substantial pollution into the household environment. It is probable that low-emission technologies involving gaseous/liquid fuels or high combustion - efficiency biomass stoves need to be promoted in order to achieve these standards for the greater part of the population.
Manual for Fluke 983 Optical Particle Counter
- Fluke Inc
Fluke Inc., Manual for Fluke 983 Optical Particle Counter, Fluke Inc., Everett, WA, 2005.