Abstract
As China's ageing population continues to expand, the issue of thermal comfort for elderly residents in rural areas has become increasingly significant. Compared with urban housing, rural dwellings are often self-built, lack formal design standards, and frequently suffer from poor thermal performance. These conditions result in uncomfortable indoor environments that can adversely affect the health, safety, and quality of life of older occupants. Although interest in rural housing has grown in recent years, most studies remain focused on individual cases and offer limited generalisability. In addition, there has been insufficient attention paid to the unique thermal perceptions and behavioural responses of the elderly. One key issue is the oversimplification or omission of metabolic rate, an essential parameter in thermal comfort models, particularly in studies involving older populations.To address these gaps, this research focuses on rural housing in Weihai, Shandong Province. A stratified random sampling approach was adopted to collect data from 459 rural households across 601 villages. Using building shape, window-to-wall ratio, and construction materials as clustering variables, six representative rural building prototypes were identified through the k-means clustering algorithm. These prototypes provide a structured foundation for further simulation and optimisation.
Subsequent year-round field measurements and occupant comfort surveys were conducted, targeting elderly residents. Different methods for estimating metabolic rates were considered, and a localised aPMV thermal comfort model adapted to rural elderly residents was developed.
Building on this model, a multi-objective optimisation process was implemented using EnergyPlus simulation software, the NSGA-II algorithm, and Entropy-TOPSIS decision analysis. The optimisation aimed to minimise annual discomfort hours and initial retrofit costs. For each building prototype, cost-effective retrofit strategies were identified. Results showed that discomfort percentages were reduced by over 70 percent on average across all prototypes, while renovation costs remained within a reasonable and acceptable range. By integrating the Pareto solution set with the results of sensitivity analysis, this study proposes both comfort-oriented and cost-oriented retrofit strategies tailored to six representative prototypes of rural dwellings.
Grounded in extensive field investigations, the research develops a systematic methodological framework aimed at improving the indoor thermal environment of elderly residents in cold rural regions. Through the dual-objective optimisation of thermal comfort and economic cost, the study seeks to identify renovation pathways that achieve a balance between performance enhancement and financial feasibility.
The findings not only offer practical decision-making support for the formulation of rural housing retrofit policies but also provide a theoretical foundation for the development of more age-friendly and sustainable rural living environments. This research contributes valuable empirical evidence and methodological insight to guide future efforts in rural revitalisation and elderly-oriented housing improvement.
| Date of Award | 15 Nov 2025 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Jun Lu (Supervisor), Wu Deng (Supervisor), Paolo Beccarelli (Supervisor) & Isaac Yu Fat Lun (Supervisor) |