China's new Design Standards for Energy-efficient Public
Construction (DSEEPC) will take effect on a limited basis in the
first half of this year. Large cities like Beijing, Shanghai,
Shenzhen and Chengdu have been selected to implement the standards
on a trial basis.
Energy optimization is emphasized in every aspect of the new
standards, including design, materials, heating and air
conditioning and ventilation. Land and water utilization, as well
as environmental protection, are also considered.
“The most economical way to save energy is by developing
energy-efficient structures,” said Zhao Jian, director of the
Planning Department of the Tianjin Construction Administration
Commission.
Floor space has been increasing on an average of 2 billion
square meters per year, with more than 80 percent of the new
buildings energy guzzlers. The trend pours salt on the wounds of
the 95 percent of the existing 40 billion square meters of
energy-inefficient buildings.
For example, more than 70 percent of the residential and
commercial buildings in China are made of solid clay bricks,
despite their notoriously poor insulation qualities. Energy
consumption in these structures runs two to three times that of
most of their counterparts in developed countries.
“Inefficient heaters and air conditioners are also large energy
consumers, accounting for 55 percent of the energy used in all
structures in China,” said general engineer Lang Siwei of the
Chinese Academy of Building Research. “More electricity is used in
residential and commercial buildings than by industry in some
places.”
China issued the Design Standards for Energy-efficient Civil
Construction in 1995, requiring that all new buildings cut energy
costs by up to 50 percent starting July 1, 1996. However, by the
end of 2000, a mere 5 percent of all new construction had met the
standards. Half of those buildings were in Beijing.
Vice Minister of Construction Qiu Baoxing announced at a press
conference last week that more than one-third of new buildings will
be required to meet the standards and cut energy consumption by up
to 50 percent by 2010. By 2020, all the new buildings will be
expected to reduce energy use by 65 percent.
The ministry will intensify supervision over the construction
process, including permits, design, inspections, approval and
maintenance.
“Energy efficiency only raises the cost of construction 5 to 7
percent," said Qiu. "That can be made up within 5 to 8 years.”
To speed advances in this regard, the country is boosting
cooperation with foreign companies to promote the development of
"green" building technologies. For example, on Wednesday the
Ministry of Construction signed an agreement with American
Standard, a leading US maker of kitchen and bath fixtures and air
conditioning systems.
American Standard is helping China to launch an award for the
best green buildings in the country, Qiu said at the signing
ceremony.
The government is also considering offering tax incentives to
developers who use energy-efficient materials.
Meanwhile, Qiu said, China is considering canceling welfare
heating supplies.
For decades, urban residents employed by the state lived in
apartments belonging to their work units, which paid heating fees
during the winter. The system encourages waste: if a room is hot,
most users open a window rather than turn off the heating, because
they don't feel the pinch in their pockets.
"People will try to save energy if they must pay themselves for
what they use,” noted Liu Min, a senior researcher with Gansu
Academy of Social Sciences in northwest China.
By 2020, energy consumption is forecast to triple to 1.1 billion
tons of coal -- China's primary fuel?-- if conservation is not
promoted and employed. At that level, China will be the biggest
contributor to carbon dioxide emissions in the world.
(China.org.cn by Unisumoon, March 3, 2005)