Influence of Thermal Design performance of Envelope structure on Indoor Thermal Environment in Dry-Hot and Dry-Cold areas

School of Architecture, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China

Abstract

Thermal performance is considered to be a key measure in building sustainability. One of the technologies used in the current building sustainable design is the high thermal mass techniques. The application of this type of technology is widely used in traditional architecture. The paper aims at studying the effect of both high thermal insulation and high thermal mass techniques in buildings dynamic behaviour in Dry-Hot and Dry-Cold Climate. The two techniques can lead to conflicting requirements when considering winter and summer conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to identify insulation measures that conserve the mass dynamic behavior. Experimental investigations were carried out on a single - family house to characterize the behavior of one room with high thermal mass in different seasons. Thermal simulations made it possible to explore different retrofit configurations. Different thermal mass and thermal insulation were compared on internal surface temperature. The analysis shows that the most suitable intervention is both high thermal insulation and high thermal mass techniques, and the decrease of the absorption coefficient of the outer surface is beneficial to improve the overall level of solar radiation.