Simulation study on the summer thermal performance of a typical Chinese traditional residential building Anhui residence

Traditional residential buildings in Anhui, Southern China, maintain comfortable indoor thermal conditions in the summer without any air-conditioning. To understand this phenomenon, the building thermal environment was simulated to study the physical principles for maintaining natural thermal comfort. Measured data such as outside temperatures, solar radiation intensities, the thermal characteristics of the structure, and the interior gain were used as the boundary conditions. Various natural ventilation modes were evaluated in the simulation to determine which mode resulted in the measured indoor temperature. The simulated results showed that the best mode was to limit natural ventilation during the day and promote it at night. Ventilation by the stack effect was the key to realize this ventilation mode. Other important factors are also discussed which are useful to the design of ecologically sound buildings and reduced energy use.