Effective Pathway to Improve Indoor Thermal Comfort in Rural Houses: Analysis of Heat Efficiency of Elevated Kangs

Abstract

Rural households are mainly heated using kangs in northern China. In this study, elevated kangs (EK) were constructed in six rural houses in Zhuanglang County. Indoor and outdoor temperatures were monitored hourly in houses using the traditional type of kang (TK) and the elevated kang. A polynomial regression model was designed to analyze the time series data on fuel consumption and temperature change. The thermal effectiveness of the two types of kang was modeled according to the daily life scenario of rural households. The results show that the EK can improve fuel efficiency and the indoor thermal comfort of rural residents in winter. At a given fuel consumption, the EK Tha (hourly average temperature difference during the heating period) was 5.1°C higher than the TK Tha in Gaoyahan village and 6.6°C higher than the TK Tha in Xiawan village. At a given indoor temperature, EK fuel consumption was less than that of TK. Use of the EK improved fuel utilization efficiency, which indicated that the method can help solve heating problems in rural houses. The thermal efficiency of the EK was between 35 and 36%, which was more than double that of the TK. This suggests that the EK should be actively promoted in western rural China.