The Investigation of Residential Energy Consumption in Rural Areas Surrounding the Xi'an City

The main purpose that should be put in the first place on residential constructions in the rural areas is how to guide the consumers to build residential buildings that are energy effective, comfortable, cost effective, and with construction techniques that are appropriate for the local conditions. Before investigating residential buildings that are suitable for local conditions, we have to discover the local economic status and their living habit in depth. This article puts emphasis on to survey the relationship between dwelling habits and energy consumption in the rural areas, also, space heating and cooling method, the use of solar energy, marsh gas and any other renewable sources of energy, as well as the thermal environment of residential buildings are investigated and analyzed. we conclude that, in the rim of Xi'an city, most of the fuel sources for space heating in winter used in the rural areas are fireweed and comstock. Most of the energy sources are crops waste materials that are not environmental friendly, thus, it's necessary to popularize the use of solar energy and marsh gas.