Energy Sustainability of Rural Residential Buildings with Bio-Based Building Fabric in Northeast China

Xunzhi Yin,Yongheng Jia,Jiaqi Yu,Qi Dong,Cheng Sun

doi:10.3390/en13215806

Abstract

Due to the cold winters in northeast China, the energy consumption of the rural residential buildings is much higher in this region than in other regions. In this study, the energy sustainability of bio-based wall construction is examined through applications in rural residential buildings. Comparisons of the energy sustainability of the bio-based wall constructions and the conventional wall constructions are evaluated using IESVE-2019 computational simulation. The results show notable reductions in heating energy requirements and coal use, which is the major heating source for rural residential buildings in China. The results show that reductions of 45.82–204.07 kWh/m2/year in heating energy requirements and more than 40% in coal use are possible through application of bio-based wall constructions. The application of bio-based wall construction will result in lower seasonal air pollution and coal use through straw burning in northeast China.

Highlights

China has maintained rapid economic growth over the past decades
As there are no mechanical ventilation and air-conditioning systems in rural residential buildings, cooling energy consumption was excluded from this exercise
The potential energy sustainability advantages are analyzed through arising from the application of bio-based wall construction to rural residential buildings in northeast China

Summary

Introduction

China has maintained rapid economic growth over the past decades. The gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate has been around 10% per year from 2000 to 2018 [1]; this rapid economic growth has resulted in high energy consumption [2]. Operational energy accounts for over 86% of the life cycle energy, and heating energy is the major contributor to operational energy use in the cold and severely cold regions in China [11]. To address this issue, a series of policies have been issued to achieve energy savings and emission reduction goals in China. A series of policies have been issued to achieve energy savings and emission reduction goals in China These include the design standard for energy efficiency of residential buildings in severe cold and cold zones (JGJ26-2018) [12], standard for the energy consumption of buildings (GB/T 51161–2016) [13], and the design standard for energy efficiency of rural residential buildings (GB/T 50824-2013) [14]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion