STUDY ON OPERATION PATTERN OF COUPLED TRADITIONAL HEATING (CHINESE KANG) AND PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING IN RURAL RESIDENCE IN COLD REGION OF CHINA

摘要

Chinese Kang (a kind of heatable brick bed, which can be used as a heating equipment, a bed for sleep, or a place for activities.) is the most traditional heating pattern widely used in rural areas of cold region of China. The whole family have meals during the day and sleep on this heatable bed at night. Smoke created by burning branches and stalks or coal when cooking with a stove can directly flow through the flues inside the Kang body, raise the surface temperature of the Kang, and then be exhausted from a chimney. Even ambient temperature is very low, the surface temperature of Chinese Kang can still remain more than 30°C. However, satisfying indoor thermal environment cannot be gained by only Chinese Kang. Passive solar house can be coupled with Chinese Kang to make indoor thermal environment more comfortable. In this study, thermal performance of coupled advanced energy-saving Chinese Kang with stove and passive solar wall was investigated by field measurement and questionnaires. Thermal environment was evaluated by factors such as distributions of indoor temperature and relative humidity, surface temperature of the Kang, air temperature of upper/lower vent and human's activities, etc. It objectively provides information about thermal environment of rural energy-saving residences in winter in Northeast China.