Modeling Buildings by the Millions: Building Codes in China Tested for Energy Savings

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Newswise RICHLAND, Wash. China can build its way to a more energy efficient future one house, apartment and retail store at a time by improving the rules regulating these structures, according to a study by the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

PNNL scientists at the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a partnership with the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., have created a unique model that projects how much energy can be saved with changes to China's building energy codes.

Already home to almost one-fifth the world's population, China is not only growing, but rapidly developing. And it's consuming more energy along the way. Reducing energy consumption through building codes is a win-win for China and the rest of the world, by reducing fossil fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions while still promoting economic growth and energy security.

The study focused on realistic improvements to codes that regulate building aspects like insulation and lighting. Improvements to these codes could reduce building energy consumption by up to 22 percent by the end of this century, compared to a no-change scenario, the researchers found.

"A 22-percent cut is a large change in China's trajectory," said Meredydd Evans, the PNNL scientist who managed the project. "More energy could be saved with additional standards and policies, but this study shows that a distinct set of codes can have great impact."

Findings from the study were published in Energy Policy.

Before foundations, buildings start with codes

Since China implemented its first building energy codes in the 1980s, the country has expressed a commitment to reducing energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions through improved codes, Evans said. In fact, China's codes are not radically different than those in the U.S., though significant gaps remains, she said.

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Modeling Buildings by the Millions: Building Codes in China Tested for Energy Savings