Create a green and low-carbon urban environment and promote the development of ultra-low energy consumption buildings

Source: Time Report

[citation needed] : To achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality is a major strategic decision made by the CPC Central Committee in considering both domestic and international situations. It is an inevitable choice to focus on solving the prominent problem of resource and environmental constraints and realize the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, and it is a solemn commitment to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Buildings are one of the main sources of carbon emissions. Data show that nearly 50% of the national carbon emissions come from the life cycle energy consumption of buildings, and ultra-low energy consumption buildings are one of the directions for the future development of energy conservation and emission reduction in the construction field, and are an important way to achieve the goal of "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" in the construction field. At the same time, it is also the most suitable and optimized high-quality buildings to reduce the demand for building energy, the relevant person in charge of the science and technology and industrialization development center of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said that ultra-low energy buildings have become an important development direction of the construction of "good houses" at home and abroad, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development will promote the large-scale development of ultra-low energy buildings and help the construction of "good houses".

Ultra-low energy buildings can be described as follows: Adapt to the local climate characteristics and site conditions of the building, minimize the building heating, air conditioning and lighting needs through passive building design, maximize the efficiency of energy equipment and systems through active technical measures, make full use of renewable energy, and provide a comfortable indoor environment with minimal energy consumption. Its building energy consumption level is more than 50% lower than that of new buildings built around 2015. What is the development prospect of ultra-low energy buildings? The author believes that in the context of global warming, superimposed on residents' growing demand for beautiful housing, partial replacement of central heating, policy support and other factors "blessing", ultra-low energy building development prospects can be expected.

Global warming factor

Mankind is facing the global problem of global warming. The heat sweeping the world in 2022 has made us fear climate change. This year is no better. The World Meteorological Organization believes 2023 is on track to be the hottest year on record. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service also believes 2023 will "almost certainly" overtake 2016 as the planet's hottest year on record. The heat this year has been blamed on continued greenhouse gas emissions from human activities and the El Nino weather pattern, which has warmed waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Reuters reported. Frequent extreme weather has a direct or indirect impact on human society, triggering a chain reaction. If we do not take care of the blue planet on which we live, mankind will eventually face an unprecedented ultimate disaster. As we all know, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are the main cause of global warming. The World Food Policy Research Institute released a statement in May 2022, saying that because of climate change, global food production has fallen by 30% since 2007, and the situation will worsen further. The data show that China's current annual carbon dioxide emissions are about 10 billion tons, about a quarter of the global annual emissions, and the total carbon emissions of the whole process of construction in China is about 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide, accounting for 50.6% of the national carbon emissions, the construction industry has become a major carbon emitter with industry and transportation. Therefore, in order to reduce carbon emissions, the construction industry plays a pivotal role, and the development of ultra-low energy consumption buildings is undoubtedly an important starting point and focus of the construction industry to reduce carbon emissions. It is understood that based on the current energy-saving design standards, the building energy consumption level of ultra-low energy consumption buildings should be reduced by more than 50%. Therefore, in order to achieve the goal of carbon reduction, one of the most important measures is to vigorously develop energy-saving ultra-low energy consumption buildings.

The growing demand of residents for good housing

In the tradition of Chinese people, the house is not only a place to live, but also a container of life and a harbor of the soul, carrying people's infinite yearning for a better life. Data show that about 90% of people's life is spent in buildings, and with the ecological and environmental protection concept deeply popular, especially after the novel coronavirus epidemic, people's housing concept, housing demand has undergone a major change, people's requirements for housing are becoming more and more "harsh", people's demand for beautiful housing is becoming more and more strong, and people's demand for beautiful housing is also more and more strong. It is also the goal of the builders. The National Conference on Housing and Urban and Rural Development held this year set the goal of "ensuring that the people can live in better houses", and thoroughly reviewed the core logic of the development of housing and urban and rural development. "Providing high-quality building products for the society" emphasizes the important role of building "good houses" for people to live in peace; Minister Ni Hong of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development also pointed out when investigating China Construction Technology Group this year that it is necessary to build smart, green, safe and healthy good houses to provide high-quality living space for the people. As the world's most advanced energy-saving buildings, passive ultra-low energy consumption buildings can create a comfortable and healthy indoor environment of "constant temperature, constant humidity, constant oxygen, constant cleanliness, constant static", and keep the indoor air fresh in the case of haze and other pollution weather, which conforms to the concept of high-quality development and becomes an important carrier to meet people's yearning for a better life. It has become a representative of "good housing", so the in-depth promotion of ultra-low energy consumption buildings and the creation of a healthy, comfortable and livable living environment can effectively serve the strategic deployment of healthy China, which is of great significance to improve the level of building energy conservation, promote industry transformation and upgrading, and environmental protection, and can promote the harmonious and orderly coexistence of people, buildings and the environment.

There is no need for central heating while maintaining the comfort of the indoor environment

At present, the main way of winter heating in northern cities in China is central heating, but in the long run, with the acceleration of urbanization (China's urbanization rate in 2022 is 65.22%) and the restriction of road and pipe network planning and construction, and the reduction of the number of cogeneration heat source plants around the city, the problem of insufficient central heating will become increasingly prominent. Practice has proved that ultra-low energy buildings do not need central heating, and their comfort level is obviously better than that of central heating, which can partially replace and supplement traditional central heating. The heating mode can be changed from "traditional" to "technology", from "active" to "passive", and at the same time achieve the goal of "eating and eating" both carbon reduction and house comfort.

Policy support

Experts pointed out that compared with conventional energy-saving buildings, ultra-low energy consumption buildings with passive building design and active high-performance energy systems reduce energy consumption during the use of buildings, indirectly reducing pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, which is of great significance for achieving the goal of carbon neutrality. It can be seen that ultra-low energy consumption buildings will become mainstream buildings in the future.

At present, ultra-low energy consumption buildings are developing rapidly in China. The person in charge of the Science, technology and Industrialization Development Center of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development introduced that by the end of 2022, the ultra-low energy consumption building area under construction and completed in China has exceeded 30 million square meters, and the energy saving capacity has reached 300,000 tons of standard coal. In addition, China has built a number of ultra-low energy consumption building demonstration projects such as Xiongan Civic Center, Gaobeidian Train New City, Datong Future Energy Museum, Qingdao Passive Room Experience Center, and achieved good demonstration benefits. According to the provisions of the "14th Five-Year Plan" building energy conservation and green building development Plan, "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China will build ultra-low energy consumption, nearly zero energy consumption buildings 50 million square meters. The rapid promotion of ultra-low energy consumption buildings benefits from the support of corresponding policies. In recent years, the state has successively promulgated relevant policies to support the construction of ultra-low energy consumption buildings. In addition to the promotion of national policies, provinces and municipalities have also issued subsidy policies to promote the development of ultra-low energy buildings, figures show that by the end of the "13th Five-Year Plan", 10 provinces and autonomous regions and 17 cities have issued more than 100 policies on ultra-low energy buildings. Mainly from the economic subsidies, scientific and technological support, supporting facilities, financial loans, tax incentives and other aspects to support the development of ultra-low energy buildings.

[Conclusion] China's ultra-low energy building development spatial pattern has basically formed, technology research and integrated innovation have made significant breakthroughs, summed up more can be promoted, replicable experience practices, ultra-low energy building development industry chain system has been fully formed, is from pilot demonstration to large-scale development transformation. The large-scale development of ultra-low energy consumption buildings will play an important supporting role in China's "2030 carbon peak, 2060 carbon neutral", and the industrialization of upstream and downstream products will bring an expected increase in GDP of 5 trillion to 10 trillion yuan. The technology system of ultra-low energy consumption building has great popularization value and industrialization prospect. The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development also said: "In the next step, China intends to continuously improve the level of building energy efficiency standards by formulating mandatory standards, comprehensively promote ultra-low energy consumption buildings in suitable climate zones, and contribute to the realization of carbon peak in urban and rural construction as soon as possible." (Reporter Xu Qiang Correspondent Wang Qunzhang Cao Xinjie)