Improving the thermal performance of the traditional Chinese Kang system by employing smoldering combustion and mechanical ventilation: An experimental study

Abstract

In northeast China, Chinese Kang plays an important role in indoor space heating, especially in the rural regions. However, the indoor thermal environment of a room with only a traditional Kang system is not satisfied. To overcome this weakness, in this paper, the measures of biomass smoldering combustion and mechanical ventilation are introduced. A field test was carried out in Liaoning province, China. The test results on four different operation methods show that the combined mode has the best thermal performance and provides the optimal indoor thermal environment. In combined mode, the average black globe temperature, average indoor air temperature, maximal indoor air temperature and average Kang plate surface temperature have been increased by 48%, 49%, 49% and 30%, respectively, compared with the traditional mode. The results proved that, adding the smoldering combustion and mechanical ventilation greatly improves the thermal performance of a traditional Kang system.