Climate Adaptation and Indoor Comfort Improvement Strategies for Buildings in High-Cold Regions: Empirical Study from Ganzi Region, China

Peng Liu,Youman Wei,Kaiyang Zhong,Qun Zhang,Qing Wang

doi:10.3390/su14010576

Abstract

The improvement of building and living conditions in high-cold areas has always been an issue worthy of attention, but there is currently no research using field survey data for evaluation. The Ganzi region, based in the western plateau of China, is a typical example for such a study. Restricted by factors such as natural conditions and economic level, the winter indoor thermal environment of western plateau houses is generally poor. Taking the new residential houses in the Ganzi region as a case study, the authors of this paper conducted field research and analyses. First, the authors analyzed the construction technology and functional layout of the building through thermal environment testing and investigation; second, the authors analyzed the user’s activity path according to the production and lifestyle; thirdly, the authors comprehensively evaluated the indoor thermal comfort through questionnaires and a predicated mean vote (PMV)-predicted percentage dissatisfied (PPD) evaluation model. The research results showed that: (1) the construction technology, functional layout, and temperature distribution of the new residential building were consistent with the user’s activity path, which could effectively improve thermal insulation ability and thermal comfort; (2) compared to the developed eastern regions, the users in the building showed a stronger tolerance and wider acceptable temperature range in the extreme climate environment; and (3) under certain cooperative work conditions, an indoor temperature of 10–14 °C could meet basic thermal environment requirements and thus lower the limits of the standards. The author’s method was proven to be more resilient than current standards in dealing with climate change. Therefore, this research can provide a practical reference for the improvement of peoples’ living conditions and sustainable development in cold regions and other harsh areas.

Highlights

IntroductionMany people in the world still live in plateaus or alpine regions, such as the
Ikeda et al [11] compared three heat-sensitivity indicators, and the results showed that the prediction method of linking predicated mean vote (PMV) with the psychological and behavioral adaptation of the occupants was the most accurate and effective
In order ordertotocompare compare differences between the results the questionnaire thethe differences between the results of the of questionnaire survey survey the calculated of PMV,comfort thermalvalues comfort values◦ Cofwere

Summary

Introduction

Many people in the world still live in plateaus or alpine regions, such as the. Alps in Europe, the Andes in South America, and the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in China. The climatic conditions in these regions are much worse than those in the plains. Studying the living conditions of people in these areas is a meaningful topic for sustainable development. The Tibetan Plateau has always been a typical sparsely populated area due to its harsh natural environment [1]. Since 1949, the population and footprint of human activities on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau have been continuously increasing. The population size in China in this region has increased by more than four times than that in

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion