Abstract  

 According to the Chinese State Council’s ‘‘Building Energy Efficiency Management Ordinance’’, a large-scale investigation of energy efficiency (EE) in buildings in contemporary China has been carried out in 22 provincial capitals and major cities in China. The aim of this project is to provide reliable information for drawing up the ‘‘Decision on reinforcing building energy efficiency’’ by the Ministry of Construction of China. The surveyed organizations include government departments,  research  institutions,  property  developers,  design  institutions,  construction companies, construction consultancy services companies, facility management departments, financial institutions and those which relate to the business of building energy efficiency. In addition, representatives of the media and residents were also involved. A detailed analysis of the results of the investigation concerning aspects of the current situation and trends in building energy consumption, energy efficiency strategy and the implementation of energy efficiency measures has been conducted. The investigation supplies essential information to formulate the market entrance policy for new buildings and the refurbishment policy for existing buildings to encourage the development of energy efficient technology.

Keywords : Energy efficiency (EE); Building; Survey; Policy; Legislation; Reform; China

                       1．Introduction

Future trends in China’s energy will have considerable consequences for both China and the global environment.

Although China’s carbon emissions are low on a per capita basis, China has been already ranked the world’s second largest producer of carbon, behind only the USA. China’s buildings sector currently accounts for 23% of China’s total energy use and this is projected to increase to one-third by 2010. China has set a target for a 50% reduction of energy consumption for buildings. Energy policy plays an important role in China’s sustainable development . Improving energy efficiency in buildings is one of the most cost-effective measures for reducing CO2 emission, which is recognised as one of the main causes of global warming.

The climate in China is very perse. According to the national ‘‘Standard of Climatic Regionalization for Architecture’’ GB 50178-93, China is pided into the following zones based on climate characteristics: very cold, cold, hot summer and cold winter, hot summer and warm winter, and moderate. Air conditioning and heating requirements for different zones are as follows: in the very cold zone, the major requirement is heating, and few residential buildings are equipped with air conditioning. In the cold zone, the primary requirement is heating, followed by air conditioning. In the hot summer and cold winter zone, both air conditioning and heating are needed. In the hot summer and warm winter zone, the major requirement is air conditioning and few residential buildings require heating. In some parts of the moderate zone, heating is needed; in other parts, both heating and air conditioning are needed. The availability of heating and air conditioning depends on several factors, including the degree of economic development in an area, the availability of energy supplies and the requirements for environmental protection。

The Chinese government has focused on energy efficiency in buildings since the 1980s, and numerous standards, building codes, incentive policies and administrative rules have been issued. For example, the ‘‘Energy Design Code for Heated。

Residential Buildings JGJ 26-86’’, ‘‘Energy Design Code for Heated New Residential Buildings JGJ 26-95’’ and ‘‘Technical Specification for Energy Conservation Renovation of Existing Heated Residential Buildings JGJ 129-2000’’ are for the Very Cold and Cold zones. The ‘‘Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings in the Hot Summer and Cold Winter zone JGJ 134-2001’’ and ‘‘Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings in the Hot Summer and Warm Winter zone JGJ 75-2003’’ are for non-central heating areas. According to the Chinese government timetable, standards for the energy efficient design for residential buildings in all climate zones should have taken effect by the end of 2003