In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 30% of households in urban settlements live in traditional mobile dwellings-gers. This study outlines urban gers based on a field survey of 49 households. The authors analyse space heating and thermal characteristics of ger envelopes, which are essential factors for the emission of air pollutants during winters. The results suggest the necessity of urgent policy implementation of the change of coal stoves to other appliances with better energy performance and lower pollutant emissions. Further, there is a need for new, customised methods to improve the thermal insulation of gers, based on local economy and needs.

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In this study, the walls and roofs of five-walled gers were insulated with high-performance building insulation materials while maintaining the original purpose of portable design of the ger. The ger is a traditional nomadic housing made of wooden structures and covered with few layers of felt sheets. In Ulaanbaatar, 30.4% of the total households live in gers. The indoor air temperature, surface temperature, outdoor air temperature, and solar radiation were measured to validate the performance of roof and wall retrofitting. Measurements were performed in two phases: before and after renovation. After renovation, the wall surface temperature increased and became similar to the roof surface temperature. The floor surface temperature remained low, from 0 °C to 15 °C, indicating that floor insulation was needed. The operative temperature was up to 5 °C higher than the indoor air temperature before renovation, and after renovation, the operative temperature become 1.5 °C higher than the indoor air temperature owing to the use of an electric heating device.