Energy performance of a light wood-timber structured house in the severely cold region of China

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the energy performance of a timber structured house built in Harbin, a severely cold region of China. The research team conducted a field test on the house that lasted three months (15 January-15 April 2008). The test included the winter heating energy consumption, average indoor temperature and relative humidity, building heat storage capacity, heat transfer coefficient of the wall, total air volume of air-conditioning system, etc. The test results showed that the total heating was calculated to be 73,240.59 MJ in winter. Thermal imaging tests were carried out on the house and found no obvious thermal defects such as thermal bridges. In conclusion, the timber structured house has a good level of building energy conservation and would provide a good exemplary for green building design and construction in similar severely cold regions in the world.