Improving Indoor Thermal Environment of Residential Buildings Under Typical Space Heating Methods in Xinjiang, China

In order to improve the thermal environment of residential buildings in winter for Xinjiang, this research conducted a field test and a survey of residential buildings under typical heating methods. The results show that the indoor temperature and humidity are dynamically changing, and the variation of central heating and gas wall-mounted furnace fluctuated less than that of coal heating. Furthermore, the thermal environment evaluation shows that the thermal comfort level under gas wall-mounted furnace heating are the highest, which belongs to category Ⅰ. For the central heating and coal stove, only 12% and 26% of buildings achieve to category Ⅱ. Moreover, it is found that the acceptable temperature range of coal furnace heating residents can be as low as 19.5°C, while that of central heating and gas wall-mounted furnace heating is 20.3°C~25.7°C, which relate to the clothing insulation of residents under different heating methods. In addition, all residents almost have the same habit of window opening behaviour during heating period, and 72% of residents open windows for ventilation. Correspondingly, 62% of residents feel dry during heating season, which induce xerosis cutis, dry mouth and other uncomfortable symptom, and can be improved by using humidifier, planting plants and so on.