Study on Comprehensive Benefit Evaluation of Rural Houses with an Additional Sunroom in Cold Areas—A Case Study of Hebei Province, China

To address the issues of poor thermal performance and high energy consumption in rural dwellings in cold regions of China, this study investigates multi-type energy-efficient retrofitting strategies for rural houses in the Hebei–Tianjin region. By utilizing a two-step cluster analysis method, 458 ru...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xinyu Zhu, Tiantian Duan, Yang Yang, Chaohong Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Buildings
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/13/2343
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Summary:To address the issues of poor thermal performance and high energy consumption in rural dwellings in cold regions of China, this study investigates multi-type energy-efficient retrofitting strategies for rural houses in the Hebei–Tianjin region. By utilizing a two-step cluster analysis method, 458 rural dwellings from 32 villages were classified based on household demographics, architectural features, and energy consumption patterns, identifying three typical categories: pre-1980s adobe dwellings, 1980s–1990s brick–wood structures, and post-1990s brick–concrete houses. Tailored sunspace design strategies were proposed through simulation: low-cost plastic film sunspaces for adobe dwellings (dynamic payback period: 2.8 years; net present value: CNY 2343), 10 mm hollow polycarbonate (PC) panels for brick–wood structures (cost–benefit ratio: 1.72), and high-efficiency broken bridge aluminum Low-e sunspaces for brick–concrete houses (annual natural gas savings: 345.24 m<sup>3</sup>). Economic analysis confirmed the feasibility of the selected strategies, with positive net present values and cost–benefit ratios exceeding 1. The findings demonstrate that classification-based retrofitting strategies effectively balance energy-saving benefits with economic costs, providing a scientific hierarchical implementation framework for rural residential energy efficiency improvements in cold regions.
ISSN:2075-5309