Solar Energy Block-Based Residential Construction for Rural Areas in the West of China

Jizhong Shao, Huixian Chen, Ting Zhu
2016 Sustainability  
Based on the Great Western Development Strategy and the requirement for sustainable development in the west of China, rural affordable housing, energy conservation, and environmental protection are becoming development standards in the construction field. This paper mainly explores an innovative, sustainable, residential construction method for rural areas in western China, particularly the integration of solar energy technology with modern prefabricated building techniques, formally named
more » ... energy block-based construction. The conscious approach of using volumetric blocks provides superior adaptability and expansibility in integration with a steel structure, thereby reducing the construction time and cost. Allowing a wide variety of configurations and styles in the building layout, this approach can be customized to the end-user's precise location and climate, making rural residential buildings much more flexible and modern. To take advantage of adequate solar energy resource in western China, the blocks are associated with active and passive solar energy technologies, thereby reducing pollution, mitigating global warming, and enhancing sustainability. Therefore, we concluded that solar energy block-based construction could bring significant benefits to the environment, economy, and society. It could also promote sustainable development in the rural regions of western China. natural resources and environment, which will dominate the developmental difficulties and challenges in the long term. Atmospheric pollution, which was gradually shifting from urban to rural areas [6], is the most pressing of all environmental issues in China. Controlling air pollution is the main task of the forthcoming environmental governance in the western regions of China. Residents who live in rural areas of China have relied on various fossil fuels for household energy consumption, such as coal and natural gas for cooking and heating. The current situation of domestic energy supply for the residents in rural areas is non-renewable and non-clean resources. More sustainable and green energy supplies, aside from fossil fuels [7] , are required to apply to residential construction in response to environmental issues. There is now a general consensus that it is necessary to apply renewable energy such as solar energy to the residential buildings in rural areas of China. In the west, solar energy has become the center of attention not only by virtue of being clean, safe, and permanent, but also for its abundance. It is calculated that the total solar radiant energy available to the western territory surface would be 9250~5000 MJ/(m 2¨a ), and more important, it can be conveniently and efficiently utilized in the construction industry [8] . Nevertheless, despite these potential benefits of solar energy, the successful and efficient application of solar energy in the construction industry is yet to be realized in western China due to its high cost and the enduring popularity of traditional methods, even though solar energy has been comparatively extensively developed in other industries [9] .
doi:10.3390/su8040362 fatcat:uhwuxa7hmrhktbcxqco7hh767e