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In the rural area of northern China, residents often use a traditional stove-Kang system to heat their homes, which is an effective way of using locally-produced biomass to solve the energy and environment problems. However, many of these homes are not heated sufficiently during the winter months. The current system is inefficient and requires high levels of fuel consumption. This paper researches the Kang system by creating a simplified and modular system modeling program with the aim to assist in accurate real-time design and optimization of the domestic Kang heating system. This part-1 introduces the structure, principles and the underlying equations of the modular simulation system. A variety of improvement measures were modeled and tested, upon the base model, including the use of a water heat exchanger and radiator system to the existing Kang set up, solar hot water system, bathing system, and the use of phase change material at the surface of the Kang. The program demonstrates good flexibility of implementing different technical solutions as well as fast simulation capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The part-2 provides the calibration and validation of the model backbone against the field experimental data. The paper evaluates the simulation results from a myriad of scenarios on their technical ability to increase domestic comfort. Additionally, input from local communities was used to assess rural residents' heating needs and their acceptability of possible solutions. An economic analysis was further used to evaluate the long term feasibility of possible optimized improvements. It was determined that the addition of a room radiator system, consisting of a heat exchanger, water tank, thermostat controls and a panel radiator, delivered the most economical solution in regards to the increasing the resident's comfort per dollar invested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]