Active Environmental Control Strategies for Brick Historical Buildings, Combining Heritage Conservation and Thermal Comfort

Abstract

For historical buildings, it is a challenge to utilize HVAC system to improve the thermal comfort within a reasonable range without increasing the risk of deterioration. This research selected a traditional temple building located in Hubei Province, China, aiming to clarify the impact of different operation modes of heating systems on the preservation status of the building, and to further propose reasonable active environmental control strategies. A two-dimensional hygrothermal model of the temple building was established and used to evaluate the influence of different heating parameters, operation schedules, and ventilation strategies on heritage conservation and thermal comfort with the application of floor heating. The main conclusions are as follows: for Honghua Temple, low-level heating at 16 °C with conventional ventilation or heating at 18°C with enhanced ventilation is the preferred solution; enhanced ventilation mode can reduce the risk of mold growth while satisfying the convenience of using the Buddha worship space; for intermittent heating in winter, preheating the system is necessary, and maintaining a low heating level at night is more conducive compared with shutting down the system directly; the impact of evaporation increasing caused by heating should be weighed in active environmental control.