Study on Thermal Behavior of an Experimental Low-energy Building in the Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zone of China

Abstract

This paper is based on a study of the expansion part of the architecture department building in Huazhong University of Science and Technology (hereinafter referred to as the experimental building). Thermal environment parameters, building energy consumption and other aspects of the experimental building are monitored. The results show that indoor air temperature can be improved to about 14°C in winter and 28°C in summer by the thermal regulation system, which was limited by the underground soil temperature in Wuhan. Because of the function of the under floor air distribution system, an uneven air temperature distribution is formed in the experimental building. The building energy consumption is 10.7kWh/(m2*a), much lower than the ordinary office buildings in Wuhan. In general, the experimental building can achieve a certain indoor thermal environment with low energy consumption, meeting the requirements of buildings with no-strict thermal comfort demands in the rural areas of hot summer and cold winter zone of China. A heat pump or auxiliary heating/cooling source should be added in the system to achieve a more comfortable indoor environment.