Comprehensive Performance Evaluation of Four Heating Methods Based on Field Measurements of Indoor Thermal Environment and Air Quality in Rural Dwellings, Southern Shanxi, China

Against the background of the sustainable clean-heating transition in rural northern China, quantitative comparisons of the real-world performance of different heating methods in rural dwellings in Cold Zone B remain limited, particularly those integrating objective measurements and residents’ priorities. This study aimed to evaluate the indoor thermal environment, indoor air quality, and comprehensive performance of four heating methods in rural dwellings in southern Shanxi, China. Continuous 24-h monitoring of temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide (CO2), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), inhalable particulate matter (PM10), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) was conducted in four rural dwellings, one for each heating method, alongside a questionnaire survey involving 457 respondents. Four core evaluation indicators were weighted based on residents’ perceived importance ratings from the questionnaire survey: indoor temperature (0.265), heating costs (0.253), air quality (0.245), and humidity (0.237). Given the balanced weights, a multi-indicator comprehensive evaluation was applied. Only the air-source heat pump satisfied thermal design standards, while the other three approaches failed. District heating achieved the best air quality; coal-fired stoves had an instantaneous peak PM2.5 concentration of 0.253 mg/m3. The ordinal regression model estimated a thermal-neutral temperature of 15.05 °C from residents’ TSV responses, which is lower than the PMV zero-crossing temperature of 21.74 °C. The comprehensive evaluation based on measured data and subjective weights yielded the performance ranking: air-source heat pump > district heating > coal-fired boilers > coal-fired stoves. These findings provide a case-based reference for evaluating rural heating options and support the sustainable clean-heating transition in southern Shanxi.