*Article* **Study on a New Type of Ventilation System for Rural Houses in Winter in the Severe Cold Regions of China**

**Baogang Zhang 1,\*, Xianglu Cai <sup>1</sup> and Ming Liu <sup>2</sup>**


**Abstract:** The weather in the high latitudes of China is cold in winter. The pollution caused by the burning of biomass fuels used in rural individual heating is a great threat to human health. This study finds that the amounts of CO2, CO, PM2.5, and PM10 in the bedroom exceed the standard and the temperature does not meet the standard based on indoor air measurements in rural residential buildings in Liaoning Province in winter. In this study, a mechanical ventilation method which uses flue gas to preheat fresh air is proposed, for the purpose of simultaneously improving the indoor air quality and the thermal environment of rural houses. The flue gas–fresh air heat exchange (FGFAHE) experiment shows that biomass combustion flue gas can increase the outdoor air temperature by 23.7 ◦C on average. The ventilation experiment shows that the method of mechanical ventilation combined with external window penetration can increase the dilution rate of indoor CO by more than 1 times. The simulation results of six different ventilation schemes show that the ventilation mode of the diagonal opposite side upper air supply and lower exhaust air (DOUSLE) has the best effect on indoor CO prevention and control, and the mode of median air supply is the most beneficial to the indoor thermal environment.

**Keywords:** rural houses; winter; ventilation; waste heat recover; air quality
