Investigation and analyses of residential heating in the HSCW climate zone of China: Status quo and key features

• The energy use for heating in HSCW region is about 1/10 of that in northern China.
• The indoor temperature of HSCW region is around 12–18 °C which still needs improving.
• The use of heating devices in HSCW region is intermittent, partial and various.
• The occupancy behavior is the main factor for the difference of heating.

In China, increasing attention is being dedicated to residential heating issues in the hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) climate zone because of rising living standards. One particular issue that is still under discussion is whether district heating should be developed in this region. This study provides a brief summary of the status of residential heating in the HSCW climate zone and characterizes its key features. Two local surveys involving 1800 questionnaires were taken during the winters of 2013 and 2014, and 48 households were used as case studies. In the case studies, the energy consumption of each heating device was measured and the temperature and CO2 concentrations in each room were monitored over one heating season. A number of families (371) were also asked to measure the temperature and CO2 concentrations of their households during the 2013 survey. Through this investigation, several conclusions were reached. 1) Energy used for heating in this region is still low; the cost is around 1.5 RMB/m2 and the use of electricity is around 3 kWhE/m2 (one-tenth of the district heating average in north China). 2) Indoor thermal environments need to be improved. The typical indoor temperatures were around 12 °C in unheated homes and around 15 °C in heated homes. 3) The use of heating devices in this region is intermittent and partial, and a variety of devices is used. 4) The behavior of occupants is the main factor that causes differences in heating-related energy use in the HSCW region.