Development of China's Energy-Efficiency Design Standard for Residential Buildings in the "Hot-Summer/Cold-Winter" Zone

To respond to increasing energy use in the building sector, China has a national effort to develop Energy Codes for building construction. Several years ago, an Energy Code was promulgated for the northern portion of the country, where energy consumption for heating is the primary concern. In 2000-2001, an Energy Code was developed for residential buildings in the "Hot-Summer/Cold-Winter" Zone along the Yangtze River. The Compiling Team consisted of representatives from key cities within the region (Chongqing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Nanjing and Chengdu). International support was provided by the Energy Foundation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

This work was complicated by the fact that the "Hot-Summer/Cold-Winter" Zone area has both significant heating and cooling loads. Consequently, the "Hot- Summer/Cold-Winter" Zone Energy Code needed to be more sophisticated than the previous Energy Code adopted in China. In addition to balancing the relative importance of heating and cooling loads, the project also involved a judgment of how comfort conditions in residential buildings might be expected to improve over time. The range of energy efficiency measures that were evaluated is presented (including multiple glazing, frame and shading options for windows, and insulation options for the walls and roof). The weather data used is summarized in a companion paper [1]. Key aspects of the code format, compliance options, and requirements are outlined.