Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

A thorough assessment of China’s standard for energy consumption of buildings

Journal Article · · Energy and Buildings
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
China's Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Public Buildings (the Design Standard) is widely used in the design phase to regulate the energy efficiency of physical assets (envelope, lighting, HVAC) in buildings. However, the standard does not consider many important factors that influence the actual energy use in buildings, and this can lead to gaps between the design estimates and actual energy consumption. To achieve the national energy savings targets defined in the strategic 12th Five-Year Plan, China developed the first standard for energy consumption of buildings GB/T51161-2016 (the Consumption Standard). This study provides an overview of the Consumption Standard, identifies its strengths and weaknesses, and recommends future improvements. The analysis and discussion of the constraint value and the leading value, two key indicators of the energy use intensity, provide insight into the intent and effectiveness of the Consumption Standard. The results indicated that consistency between China's Design Standard GB 50189-2015 and the Consumption Standard GB/T51161-2016 could be achieved if the Design Standard used the actual building operations and occupant behavior in calculating the energy use in Chinese buildings. The development of an outcome-based code in the U.S. was discussed in comparison with China's Consumption Standard, and this revealed the strengths and challenges associated with implementing a new compliance method based on actual energy use in buildings in the U.S. Overall, this study provides important insights into the latest developments of actual consumption-based building energy standards, and this information should be valuable to building designers and energy policy makers in China and the U.S.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC); USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1532251
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1415681
Journal Information:
Energy and Buildings, Journal Name: Energy and Buildings Journal Issue: C Vol. 143; ISSN 0378-7788
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (12)

DeST — An integrated building simulation toolkit Part I: Fundamentals journal June 2008
An insight into actual energy use and its drivers in high-performance buildings journal October 2014
A close look at the China Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Public Buildings journal April 2009
Do LEED-certified buildings save energy? Yes, but… journal August 2009
Do LEED-certified buildings save energy? Not really… journal December 2009
Comparison of building energy use data between the United States and China journal August 2014
A review of building energy regulation and policy for energy conservation in developing countries journal December 2010
Assessment of China's energy-saving and emission-reduction accomplishments and opportunities during the 11th Five Year Plan journal April 2011
Do regulations encourage innovation? - the case of energy efficiency in housing journal September 1998
Outcome-based Energy Codes On the Way to Net Zero journal September 2011
Effects of diffuser airflow minima on occupant comfort, air mixing, and building energy use (RP-1515) journal July 2015
Indoor thermal factors and symptoms in office workers: findings from the US EPA BASE study journal August 2009

Cited By (2)

Simulation Analysis and Scheme Optimization of Energy Consumption in Public Buildings journal July 2019
Bridging the gap: The need for a systems thinking approach in understanding and addressing energy and environmental performance in buildings journal August 2017

Figures / Tables (22)

Figure 1(p. 7)figure Figure 1
Table 1(p. 7)table Table 1
Figure 2(p. 16)figure Figure 2
Figure 3(p. 17)figure Figure 3
Table 2(p. 18)table Table 2
Table 3(p. 18)table Table 3
Table 4(p. 19)table Table 4
Figure 4(p. 20)figure Figure 4
Figure 5(p. 21)figure Figure 5
Figure 6(p. 21)figure Figure 6
Figure 7(p. 22)figure Figure 7
Figure 8(p. 26)figure Figure 8
Table 5(p. 27)table Table 5
Figure 9(p. 32)figure Figure 9
Figure 10(p. 34)figure Figure 10
Figure 11(p. 34)figure Figure 11
Figure 12(p. 35)figure Figure 12
Figure 13(p. 35)figure Figure 13
Figure 14(p. 37)figure Figure 14
Table 6(p. 38)table Table 6
Table 7(p. 38)table Table 7
Figure 15(p. 39)figure Figure 15

Similar Records

The Reality and Future Scenarios of Commercial Building Energy Consumption in China
Technical Report · Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2007 · OSTI ID:941175
Assessment of the Potential to Achieve very Low Energy Use in Public Buildings in China with Advanced Window and Shading Systems
Journal Article · Thu May 28 20:00:00 EDT 2015 · Buildings · OSTI ID:1209924
Regional Analysis of Building Distributed Energy Costs and CO2 Abatement: A U.S. - China Comparison
Journal Article · Wed Apr 09 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Energy and Buildings · OSTI ID:1164282

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
China
code and standard
energy consumption
energy efficiency
energy use intensity
outcome-based code