Assessment of Summer Overheating in Concrete Block and Cross Laminated Timber Office Buildings in the Severe Cold and Cold Regions of China

Yu Dong,Rong Wang,Jing Xue,Haibo Guo,Jingran Shao

doi:10.3390/buildings11080330

Yu Dong, Rong Wang + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080330

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Abstract

The aims of the paper were to clarify whether office buildings in the severe cold and cold regions are overheating, especially those with natural ventilation, and whether potential overheating is related to the building materials. The severe cold and cold regions of China were considered to be cool regions during summer. However, with global warming, improvements in the thermal performance of the building envelope and the urban heat island effect, office buildings in these regions are showing different degrees of overheating during summer. Two office building materials commonly used in this area, cross laminated timber (CLT) and concrete block, were simulated in this study. With reference to the overheating standard, the degree of overheating in six cities in the severe cold and cold regions was quantitatively analysed and the extent of overheating for the two building materials was compared. Finally, the influence of thermal insulation on building overheating is discussed, and some suggestions are put forward to improve the relevant national regulations in China. The results show that office buildings in the severe cold and cold regions experience overheating during summer, and CLT buildings are more prone to overheating than concrete buildings during summer. This is attributable to the different thermal mass of the materials. Thick insulation does increase the risk of building overheating, and the effect on concrete buildings is more pronounced. Concrete buildings with an insulation layer can experience overheating for 27–71 h more than buildings without an insulation layer. Insulation on CLT buildings only results in an increase of 11–37 h. When considering the current situation with summer overheating in the severe cold and cold regions, relevant codes should also be modified and improved accordingly to guide building design, so as to achieve low-carbon and energy-saving goals.

Highlights

This paper considers the potential risk of overheating during summer for concrete block, and cross laminated timber (CLT) office buildings and addresses the following questions: (1) Do office buildings in the severe cold and cold regions in China overheat during summer, those with natural ventilation?
The results show that office buildings in the severe cold and cold regions all experience overheating, and the severity of overheating for buildings in the same city is related to the construction materials
The internal overheating of the room is evaluated according to the CIBSE standard, internal overheating the room is evaluated to the and theThe results showed that the of concrete block buildingaccording has a lower degree of standard, overheating and the results showed that the concrete block building has a lower degree of than the CLT

Summary

Introduction

Global Climate Change and the Urban Heat Island Effect. The impact of global warming on overheating risk has demanded increased attention, even for high-latitude areas [1,2,3]. According to NASA, the average global temperature in 2020 was 1.02 ◦ C higher than the baseline average from 1951 to 1980 [5]. The representative cities for these two regions are Hailar (severe cold 1A), Harbin (severe cold 1B), Changchun and Shenyang (1C), Dalian (cold 2A) and Beijing (cold 2B) [6]. These areas used to be considered as cool during summer.

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