A study on thermal environment and energy consumption of urban residential buildings in hot summer and cold winter climate of China

As the hot summer and cold winter climate in China makes residential buildings have an uncomfortable thermal environment and high-energy consumption, it is crucial for us to achieve a good balance between energy use in buildings and indoor environmental quality. Therefore, questionnaire surveys and field measurements on thermal environment and energy consumption of urban residential buildings were made in August 2002 and January 2003 in Changsha city, a typical city under this climate. By analyzing the data of temperature and relative humidity, it is found that the urban residential buildings still have poor indoor environment of high temperature and high relative humidity in summer, and low temperature and high relative humidity in winter, though space heating and cooling facilities are adopted to moderate the influence of execrable climate on indoor environment. Energy consumptions of 100 objects in summer and winter are also analyzed. Sequentially, it is revealed the process that the urban residential energy consumption of Changsha city leaps so fast in recent years. Analysis shows that the reasons that debase indoor environment quality and result in high-energy consumption are the poor thermodynamic performance of building enclosures, unscientific ways in space heating and cooling, unreasonable programming and management of energy utilization market, deficient governmental function on energy-efficiency in buildings, and local climate. Relevant countermeasures are made consequently aiming at these factors so as to impel the sustainable development of urban residential energy utilization and thermal environment.