Study on Effective Wall Thickness in Arid and Semi-arid Areas

In arid and semi-arid areas, the diurnal and annual temperature ranges are large. Taking reasonable measures of thermal insulation, the indoor thermal environment can be comfort. The traditional dwellings, in arid and semi-arid areas of western China, have energy efficient characteristic, among which Yaodong is the typical representative. In this paper, the temperature in Yaodong wall will be tested and calculated to research the scientific mechanism of energy conservation. And then the effective wall thickness will be calculated by the periodic thermal transfer mechanism. This method offers a theoretical basis for low energy building design in arid and semi-arid areas.