Comfortable Indoor Environment with Kang

Abstract

Kang heating mode at rural houses in China is quite different from central heating system in urban areas. The relevant conclusions drawn from the research on thermal comfort of urban residential buildings are not applied to rural houses. It is necessary to study indoor thermal environment and thermal comfort at rural houses in China. A field study was conducted in winter at rural houses in the severe cold area, China. The environmental parameters and the occupants’ subjective thermal responses were collected simultaneously. The measurement results show that the mean indoor air temperature at rural houses in winter was 15.7 °C, much lower than that of 24.3 °C in urban residential buildings with central heating system. The neutral operative temperature was 17.9 °C, much lower than that of urban residential buildings, which was 23.5 °C. However, according to the subjective questionnaire, about 95% of the rural residents considered that the thermal environment was acceptable, and nearly 90% of the residents felt comfortable. Kang can not only increase indoor air temperature but also the indoor radiation temperature. Therefore, occupants feel comfortable in Kang environment. Kang has a long history and a huge cultural accumulation, which is a very suitable heating mode at rural houses in the severe cold area.