Press Release, Peking

China: dena certifies six new energy-efficient buildings

Pilot projects for energy efficiency in nurseries, office buildings and residential buildings / 70 per cent lower energy consumption than in comparable new buildings

The German Energy Agency (dena) has certified six new building projects in China with the highest energy efficiency class A. The buildings consume around 70 per cent less energy than the average new building in China. Therefore, they have the energy requirements of a passive house and conform with the quality assurance standard that dena has developed with the Center of Science and Technology of Construction (CSTC) of the Chinese building ministry. It has been tested in China since 2010.

The award-winning projects include two nurseries in Yantai (Shandong) and Yancheng (Jiangsu), two villas in the style of European country houses in Dalian (Liaoning), an office building of the construction university in Jinan (Shandong), a five-storey residential building in Zhuzhou (Hunan), an administrative building as well as a museum and monument to the Chinese workers during the First World War in Weihai (Shandong), which is architecturally very impressive.

‘The Chinese building industry is becoming increasingly interested in efficiency standards,’ said Nicole Pillen, acting manager for the energy-efficient buildings department at dena, at the awards ceremony in Peking. ‘The reason for this is not just the expected energy savings, but the comfort offered building occupants by the excellent air quality. And that represents an important argument in Chinese cities which are often plagued by smog.’

All certified buildings make use of ventilation systems with heat recovery and air-heating pumps. The windows are are triple-glazed, the building envelope is air-tight and thermally insulated. Right from the outset, dena supported all the projects by giving training sessions and carrying out quality control checks to ensure quality in planning and construction. The methods and technologies used are particularly well suited to the Chinese market and can be reproduced easily.

Series of events on energy efficiency in buildings and further pilot projects

Together with CSTC, dena will be organising a roadshow on the topic of energy efficiency in buildings in the cities Weihai (Shandong), Baoding (Hebei) and Yancheng (Jiangsu) from 23 to 27 October. The participants are expected to include project developers, investors, construction authority representatives and other experts.

dena is involved in close to 30 energy-efficient construction pilot projects in China, and 20 of these have already been completed and certified. For dena and its Chinese and German partners, the common goal is broad market development for energy-efficient construction in China.