Thermal Performance of Village Dwellings in SW China: The impacts of the ‘New Vernacular’

This paper addresses an emerging issue for village communities located particularly in SW China. Government inspired efforts to redevelop rural villages combined with aspirations of local residents have led to the replacement of the traditional, predominantly wood-construction house with a modern, mainly concrete, alternative. The new houses have modern facilities (such as for washing and cooking) but also very different thermal characteristics and are found with large windows and more restricted air flow. There is normally little involvement of professionals in appropriate ways that would allow optimisation of design for future comfort and energy efficiency. This paper describes some analytical studies of typical design options and identifies some influencing parameters. The research justifies the need for, and development of, a tool suitable for use by village committees/groups and their advisors that will provide decision-support for optimisation of comfort and energy use.