Survey of window-opening behavior of severe cold area in winter and relevant energy consumption analysis

Abstract

In severe cold area with district heating, residents generally rely on window-opening behavior to improve indoor air quality, while heat loss becomes serious due to great temperature difference of inside and outside. Firstly, this paper acquired the basic information of Shenyang residential window-opening behavior though means of questionnaire. The second step is a comprehensive analysis using tracer gas measurement, computational fluid dynamics, and empirical models to acquire air change rate for typical rooms under conditions including window-opening custom and meteorological parameters. Based on all that, ventilation mass of a family apartment is predicted, and furthermore, we determined the ratio of the energy consumption to window-opening behavior in the coldest month. The research shows that most residents in Shenyang pay attention to indoor air quality and has window-opening behavior for certain time, and the present residential ventilation strategy is not only energy unfriendly but also unhealthy. This study provides important fundamental information for further ventilation strategy optimization in serve cold zone in China. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014.