Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Towards zero-energy buildings in China: A systematic literature

review
Yaolin Lin a, *, Shengli Zhong b, Wei Yang c, Xiaoli Hao d, **, Chun-Qing Li e
a
School of Environment and Architecture, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200093, China
b
School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai, 201620, China
c
Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, 3010, Australia
d
College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, Hunan, 411201, China
e
School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, 3000, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Zero-energy buildings have attracted interest worldwide as they consume less energy and can alleviate
Received 11 December 2019 energy shortages caused by rapid economic development. This paper presents a review of the research
Received in revised form and development regarding zero-energy buildings in China. First, it briefly introduces the evolution of
11 June 2020
the definition of zero-energy buildings and discusses the key influencing factors of such buildings in
Accepted 11 July 2020
Available online 29 July 2020
China. Then, envelope design, selection of mechanical and electrical equipment, and solar energy utili-
zation aspects of zero-energy buildings are examined. Additionally, this paper discusses the development
Handling Editor: Prof. Jiri Jaromir Kleme
s and application of zero-energy buildings in China, including project types, design methods, energy re-
sources allocation, and energy operation management. Finally, this paper analyzes China’s policies for
Keywords: zero-energy buildings, including incentive mechanisms, laws and regulations, and problems encoun-
Zero-energy building tered, and provides suggestions for promoting zero-energy buildings in China. We expect this review to
Building energy efficiency identify gaps and future directions for research and development, which will lead to new technologies,
China methods, policies, and standards that can be applied to zero-energy buildings.
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3. Zero-energy building research in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.1. Definition of zero-energy building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.2. Factors affecting the performance of zero-energy buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2.1. Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2.2. Building type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2.3. Occupants behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.3. Building envelope design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.3.1. Exterior wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.3.2. Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.3.3. Roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.3.4. Thermo-physical properties of the building material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.3.5. Airtightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.4. Mechanical and electrical equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

* Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author. College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University of Science
and Technology, Xiangtan, Hunan, 411201, China.
E-mail addresses: yaolinlin@gmail.com (Y. Lin), haoxiaoli2002@aliyun.com
(X. Hao).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123297
0959-6526/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297

3.4.1. Energy-saving technology for heating and air conditioning systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3.4.2. Ventilation technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.4.3. Lighting technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.4.4. Water system energy-saving technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.5. Solar energy utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.5.1. Status of solar energy utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.5.2. Solar thermal utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.5.3. Solar power utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4. Zero-energy building applications in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.1. Typical projects of zero-energy buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.2. Design method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.3. Energy allocation strategy and operation management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5. Policies and development issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5.1. Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
6. Policies and development issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Problems encountered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Standard definition of zero-energy building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Immature technology system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Insufficient education and lack of promotion of zero-energy buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Lack of incentive policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Declaration of competing interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

1. Introduction of energy structure, approximately 70% of China’s total energy is

obtained from coal (Xing and Shan, 2012). Because of the use of
Although China is a developing country, its energy consumption coal, large amounts of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, dust, and
has exceeded that of the USA and is now the highest in the world. other pollutants are produced, which poses a threat to the envi-
The primary energy consumption in China reached 3.86
107 GWh ronment. Studies indicated that in 2018, greenhouse gas emissions
in 2018, accounting for 22% of the world’s total primary energy produced by building construction in China accounted for 42% of
consumption and being 1.42 times that of the USA (IEA, 2019). The the total national greenhouse gas emissions, making the building
energy consumption in the building sector has surpassed that of industry the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions
industrial transportation sectors, accounting for 41% of the world’s (Tsinghua University Building Energy Research Center (THBERC),
total energy consumption. (Wang et al., 2017). Building energy 2020). Therefore, the development of zero-energy buildings is an
consumption in China has been increasing significantly with the important strategy for reducing carbon emissions.
rapid economic growth and urbanization (Yun et al., 2006). Owing to problems with cost, technology, and materials,
Excessive energy consumption in buildings increases the burden of research on and application of zero-energy buildings in China
energy shortages in China, which will lower people’s living quality began later than in developed countries. In addition, China has a
and affect the implementation of sustainable development strate- vast territory whose complex geographical environment has led to
gies (Jiang, 2005). Therefore, improving the performance of build- large differences in environmental policies and economic devel-
ings to reduce overall energy consumption is necessary. Increasing opment in different climate zones (Xu et al., 2018). Therefore, the
buildings’ energy efficiency is widely recognized as the most direct research and application of zero-energy buildings in China have
and effective measure to save energy; hence, this has attracted their own characteristics compared with other countries.
increasing interest from around the world (Tang, 2016). The With consideration to all the above, this paper first introduces
development of zero-energy buildings is an effective method of the evolution of the definition of zero-energy buildings in China
increasing building energy efficiency and reducing the overall and then discusses the key factors of energy-saving building design.
building energy consumption. According to statistics, each year The relevant zero-energy building design components, including
only 10e15% of the new buildings in China can satisfy the building envelope design, mechanical and electrical equipment
mandatory energy-saving standards, meaning that more than 80% selection, and solar energy utilization, are examined. Application of
of the new buildings consume high energy. Of the existing 40 zero-energy buildings in China, including typical demonstration
billion square meters of buildings, more than 95% are high-energy projects, design methods, and energy management, is also pre-
consumption buildings (Xu, 2005). Therefore, the development of sented. The relevant policies for zero-energy building development
zero-energy buildings is of particular significance in China. in China, including incentives, laws and regulations, and problems
The ever-expanding urban construction area has caused energy encountered, are discussed. Finally, suggestions on the application
shortages and significant environmental pollution. Fig. 1 shows the prospects of zero-energy buildings are provided for future devel-
total energy consumption and building carbon emissions in China opment. The theoretical significance of this review is in identifying
from 2000 to 2016 (China Building Energy Report, 2018). As the gaps and future directions for research and development, which
figure shows, the total energy consumption of buildings in China will lead to new technologies, methods, policies, and standards that
increases each year, while their carbon emissions decreased in can be applied to zero-energy buildings.
2014, primarily owing to the use of low-quality coal, which has a
lower carbon content than high-quality coal. From the perspective
 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297 3

Fig. 1. Total energy consumption and building carbon emissions in China from 2000 to 2016
(Source: 2018 China Building Energy Research Report (China Building Energy Report, 2018)).

2. Methods Table 1 summarizes the various definitions in developed countries.

For this review, we searched relevant databases, including China
National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Web of Science, Baidu,
and Google Scholar, for literature published in the past few decades.
As indicated by the title, this paper focuses on the research and
development of zero-energy buildings in China; therefore, papers
published both in Chinese (from the CNKI database) and English
were selected. The search keywords were “zero-energy building”
and “China.” This study carefully examined the focus of the pub-
lished comments on zero-energy buildings and quoted them where
appropriate, without repeating their conclusions. Related zero-
energy building projects and government policies on energy effi-
ciency and zero-energy buildings were also reviewed. This review
extracted numerous recent literature data and classified them into
research, practical project examples, application policies, and
development issues on zero-energy buildings.
3. Zero-energy building research in China
3.1. Definition of zero-energy building
The concept of “zero-energy building” dates back to 1976. The
term was coined by Esbensen and Korsgaard from the Technical
University of Denmark when they studied the solar heating of a
residential building in winter (Esbensen and Korsgaard, 1977).
Since then, zero-energy buildings have been widely constructed in
many developed countries, and several definitions similar to that of
“zero-energy buildings” have been proposed (Sun et al., 2016).
The table indicates that there is no unified standard exists on the
definition of a zero-energy building, and each country has pro-
posed its own definition. Although the different countries have
different metrics (energy consumption or carbon emissions), over
different time periods (winter, annual, or at all times), system
boundaries (on-site or off-site) on measuring evaluating the
building performance, they all emphasize on the use of renewable
energy to satisfy the energy requirements.
The building energy-saving development process in China can
be divided into several stages (Fig. 2) (Xu, 2017). The first, second,
and final stages are to satisfy the ultra-low-energy, nearly zero-
energy, and zero-energy building design standards. In 2016, Xu
Wei, Dean of the Institute of Building Environment and Energy
Conservation of the China Academy of Building Research,
mentioned in an interview that, according to China’s actual situa-
tion, achieving “zero energy consumption” is very challenging and
achieving “nearly zero-energy buildings” is more realistic at the
moment (Yuan, 2016). However, with the rapid development in
building energy-saving technologies and products in China, zero-
energy buildings will be realized in the near future (Zhu et al.,
2013). Currently, many domestic researchers have attempted to
define and establish standards for zero-energy building.
Ji et al. (Ji and Guo, 2013) considered zero-energy buildings as
those that use the renewable energy produced by the building itself
to operate. Chen (2006) postulated that zero-energy buildings still
consume energy, but through the maximum possible utilization of
renewable energy, a building consumes zero non-renewable en-
ergy. Zhang et al. (2013) defined the zero-energy building as one in

Table 1
Definitions of zero-energy building in the developed country.

Time Country Definition Content Ref.

1976 Denmark Zero- Energy Buildings that use solar energy to satisfy the heating energy requirements in winter. Esbensen and Korsgaard (1977)
House

1992 Germany Energy Connection to an external energy infrastructure is unnecessary, and the solar thermal/photovoltaic Voss et al. (1996)
Autonomous system can be integrated with the energy storage technology to satisfy the energy requirements at
House all times.
2007 USA Zero-energy An energy-efficient building, for which the actual annual delivered source energy is less than or DOE (2015)
Building equal to the on-site renewable exported energy.
2007 UK Zero-Carbon Net CO2 emissions from all energy consumption in residential buildings are zero. (DCLG (Department of
Home Communities and Local
Government), 2007)
2010 EU Nearly Zero- Buildings with a very high energy efficiency, whose energy demand is close to zero or very low, and European Comission (2020)
energy Buildings their energy supply is largely from renewable energy sources at or near the site
2013 Canada Net Zero- Energy A home that only uses as much energy as it can produce from on-site renewable energy. NetZero (2020)
Home
4 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297
Fig. 2. China’s building energy efficiency development process (Xu, 2017).
which the end-user energy consumption was less than or equal to
the energy generated from the building and renewable energy
system connected to this building in a one-year cycle. Feng et al.
(2016) used the life-cycle assessment method to define zero-
energy buildings as buildings that generate the same amount or
more of energy than it consumes in its entire life cycle. Based on the
experience of developed countries in Europe and America, Liang
et al. (2018) defined zero-energy buildings are those whose total
primary energy consumption per year is less than or equal to the
total energy generated by the renewable energy system, provided
that thermal comfort is satisfied. The criterion proposed by these
researchers differed; and therefore, a standard definition to guide
the application of zero-energy buildings in China is required.
3.2. Factors affecting the performance of zero-energy buildings
The factors affecting zero-energy building performance can be
largely categorized as climate, building type, and occupants’ be-
haviors, which are explained in detail as follows.
3.2.1. Climate
China is located in the eastern part of the Eurasia continent and
on the west of the Pacific Ocean. The types of climate here are
complex and diverse. China is primarily divided into five different
climatic regions: severe cold, cold, hot-summer and cold-winter,
hot-summer and warm-winter, and mild regions. The differences
in climate between regions have led to a very uneven spatial dis-
tribution of heating and air conditioning demand in China (Hou and
Hu, 2010). Judging from the number of heating degree days, the
northern part of China is cold in winter and has a long heating
period compared with the south. The number of cooling degree
days in Shenzhen, Wuhan, and Beijing are 2107, 1189, and 840,
respectively (Xu et al., 2018), meaning that the proportion of
cooling energy consumption decreases from the south to the north.
The difference in climate is directly reflected in factors such as
temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind, atmospheric pres-
sure, and precipitation. The solar radiation intensity, wind direc-
tion, natural ventilation, building orientation, shape coefficient,
window-to-wall ratio, shading, etc., are the factors that affect a
building’s energy performance (Dong, 2017). Therefore, climate
characteristics have a significant effect on building performance. In
the design of zero-energy buildings, it is necessary to adapt to local
site conditions and make rational use of the surrounding environ-
ment resources to create a suitable indoor microclimate; thus,
thermal comfort in the building can be improved and zero energy
consumption achieved.
3.2.2. Building type
Most zero-energy buildings in developed countries are low-rise
buildings with up to three floors. Li (2018) verified that the highest
number of floors for net-zero energy consumption residential
buildings is three when energy is provided only by photovoltaic
panels installed on the roof. Tian (2017) observed that energy
consumption increased with an increase in the height of each story
and that the appropriate height for each story for rural residential
buildings in Guanzhong is approximately 3.0 m. In contrast, the
majority of China’s urban buildings are primarily medium- and
high-rise buildings, with a high density, floor area ratio, and va-
cancy rate (20e30%) (Xu, 2017). In addition, compared with other
developed countries, the building shape coefficient is small for
most buildings in China, which have large public areas and poor
airtightness, leading to large amounts of air penetration. Therefore,
achieving zero-energy consumption for medium and high-rise
buildings in China is difficult (Xu et al., 2016; Chen, 2015). Cur-
rent research in China focuses on the effect of height on zero-
energy buildings. We suggest that fully utilizing the vertical
façade and seeking for local renewable resources to aid achieve
zero energy for middle and high-rise buildings is necessary.
Although the rural areas of China have a better natural envi-
ronment and lower population compared with cities, the cost of
conventional commodity energy is higher than that of cities, owing
to the relatively scattered buildings, low energy usage density, and
high transportation costs. As a result, promoting zero-energy
buildings in rural areas is difficult (Huang, 2011). Therefore,
energy-autonomous houses could therefore be a suitable option for
such areas.
3.2.3. Occupants behavior
Occupants’ behaviors contribute significantly to a building’s
energy consumption. It is closely related to the occupants’ aware-
ness, living patterns, and regional economic development (Gao
et al., 2019a). Ouyang and Hokao (2009) compared the energy
 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297
consumption of 124 residential buildings in Hangzhou before and
after educating the residents on energy-saving behaviors. They
observed and found that by improving the occupants’ behaviors,
more than 10% of building electricity could be saved.
Energy consumption in residential buildings primarily includes
heating and cooling, cooking and domestic hot water, household
appliances and lighting energy consumption, etc. (Shao, 2018). The
total energy consumption is affected by factors such as the number
of electrical appliances, frequency and intensity of use, and the
number of occupants and their usage habits (Gao et al., 2019a). Li
(2014a) conducted a survey on the living patterns of four typical
families in Shenzhen and observed that their peak energy usage
demand occurred during the cooking time and when the air-
conditioners were switched and left on at night which lasted for
a long time. The number of air-conditioners switched on was the
main factor affecting the power consumption of the air-
conditioners. Lam et al. (Lain, 1996) evaluated the end energy us-
age of five different types of residential housing units for 200
families. Room air-conditioners, lighting, and refrigerators were
observed to be the major energy consumers. Wang (2009) con-
ducted measurements on the indoor thermal environment and end
energy usage for two household units in Beijing and observed that
heating and cooling consumed the largest proportion of the annual
energy, followed by cooking, hot water, televisions, computers,
lighting, and washing machines.
There are regional and climatic differences in occupants’ living
patterns, which have a significant effect on the compositions of
building energy consumption. In the severely cold and cold regions
in North China, heating is required for over six months, while in
South China, heating and cooling are only required for a limited
time and space and people prefer to open the windows for venti-
lation when possible (Dong, 2016). Wang et al. (2008) observed that
the energy-saving potential of the residential buildings in Beijing
was closely related to the occupants’ awareness of energy-saving
and living patterns. Window opening, air conditioner and electric
fan usage habits significantly affected cooling energy consumption.
The energy consumption of the air-conditioner was primarily
affected by the space temperature setpoint. With a 1  C increase in
the setpoint temperature, the cooling energy consumption could be
reduced by 3.7 kWh/m2 as measured by air-conditioned area or by
1.4 kWh/m2 as measured by construction area. Li (2011) conducted
a survey on energy consumption of the residential buildings for
nine cities in the hot-summer and cold-winter region in China. The
operation time of the air-conditioner was observed to have the
largest effect on the building energy consumption, followed by the
room temperature setpoint, occupants’ habit to switch the air-
conditioner on and off. The effects of family structure, night-time
window opening for ventilation, and floor area were relatively
smaller.
The above literature review indicates that occupants’ behavior
will become one of the most significant key factors of the perfor-
mance gaps for zero-energy buildings. Therefore, developing more
accurate occupant-behavior prediction models for zero-energy
buildings is an urgent requirement. In addition, further research
on occupants’ behavior in commercial buildings and building en-
ergy management should be conducted in the future.
3.3. Building envelope design
Building envelopes include walls, doors, windows, roofs, and
floors. The walls, exterior windows, and roofs are the main struc-
tures of a building that block the indoor and outdoor spaces. The
thermo-physical properties of the building materials and building
airtightness are important thermal indicators for building envelop
design. A building’s envelope thermal performance has a significant
5
effect on its energy consumption (Wang and Wang, 2011; Wang
and Fan, 2014). The energy consumption of a building due to heat
transfer through its envelope was observed to account for 70e80%
of the total building energy consumption (Fan, 2008). Therefore,
zero-energy buildings should use highly insulated building enve-
lopes and increase building airtightness to reduce the overall heat
transfer coefficient, thereby reducing the building’s heating and
cooling load (Ye and Duanmu, 2013). Table 2 summarizes the
energy-saving measures for the envelopes of some zero-energy
buildings in China.
3.3.1. Exterior wall
The energy consumption due to heat loss from the external wall
accounts for approximately 30% of a building’s total energy con-
sumption (Luo and Wang, 2018). Therefore, increasing the thermal
performance of the wall is a key step for building energy conser-
vation. Currently, the most common energy-saving measure for
zero-energy buildings in China is to adopt external wall insulation
technology. By selecting suitable insulation materials and a
reasonable insulation thickness, the heat transfer coefficient of the
external wall can be minimized. As required by the design standard
for zero-energy buildings, the heat transfer coefficient of the
external wall should be equal to or less than 0.15 W/(m2.K) (Li,
2017).
Research on energy conservation for building walls in China
began in the 1980s. In terms of the type of wall, the majority of the
zero-energy buildings in China now use new types of walls. For
example, the “000 PK Building” (Yu, 2010; Zhang, 2011) of the
Huazhong University of Science and Technology adopted the self-
developed active dynamic hollow wall. Research has indicated
that the thermal conductivity of the wall can extend to 0.078 W/
(m2.K). Solid-waste recycling wall material was adopted for the
external wall of the Eco-House (Han et al., 2009) in Shanghai,
effectively reducing the building’s heating and cooling load. Zhu
et al. (2010) studied the heat transfer performance of a wall with
high thermal mass in zero-energy buildings. Their results indicate
that it is most suitable to be applied in areas with large temperature
differences between the day and night as well as between indoors
and outdoors.
In terms of wall insulation materials, the performance of
different insulation materials varies significantly, resulting in
different energy-saving effects and adaptability. Deng et al. (2018)
studied the performance of six insulation materials on the weath-
ering, shearing, and fire resistance of exterior walls of nearly zero-
energy consumption in northern China and recommended appro-
priate types of insulation systems for nearly zero-energy residential
buildings in this climate region.
Another aspect of the external wall with a significant effect on a
building’s energy consumption is the thickness of the insulation
layer. Miao et al. (Miao and Zhang, 2013) proposed a logarithmic
relationship between the thickness of the insulation layer of an
external wall and the relative energy saving rate. In general, an
optimal insulation thickness exists that maximizes the energy
savings of the building. Shi et al. (2017) used a theoretical life-cycle
cost analysis to study the optimal insulation layer thickness for the
exterior walls of a passive low-energy building in the severe cold
region. They observed that the optimal insulation thickness of the
expanded polystyrene (EPS) board was 220 mm. When the thick-
ness exceeded 220 mm, no noticeable further energy savings were
observed.
3.3.2. Window
The window is the weakest component to withstand heat
transfer through the building envelope. Energy consumption due to
heat loss through the window accounts for approximately 24% of a
6 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297

Table 2
Energy-saving measures for the envelopes of some zero-energy buildings in China.

Project name Location Building Construction Energy-saving measures for the building envelopes Ref
Type Area

Project 000 PK
Nanjing Fengshang International
Residential Project
Shanghai. Ecologist
University of Nottingham Ningbo Ningbo
Sustainable Energy Technology
Research Center Building
Tianjin University Zero Energy
Future cottage
Vanke zero-carbon house
Nanjing Zhongdan Ecological City
Green Lighthouse
Wuhan Public 12762 m2 Climate adaptive window, dynamic hollow ventilated roof, Xu (2005)
building dynamic hollow wall
Nanjing Residential 75000 m2 External insulation for outer wall, open dry hanging stone curtain China Building Energy
building wall, bridge-cutoff aluminum alloy doors and windows, Low-E Report (2018)
glass, electric roller blinds
Shanghai Residential 3001 m2 The outer wall is constructed using Yangtze River silt brick as the Xing and Shan (2012)
building infill wall, the outer facade using heat-insulating paint or heat-
insulating mortar, the insulation layer using inorganic thermal
insulation mortar, and the inner façade using several materials
combined with desulfurization gypsum
Public 1556 m2 The exterior wall is double-layered laminated façade glass, (Tsinghua University
building electrically controllable “smart” window, and the opening degree Building Energy Research
of each outer window and louver are controlled by sensing devices Center (THBERC), 2020)
Tianjin Residential 74 m2 An ecological wood structure system and green steel structural Zero Energy (2010)
building components are adopted
Shenzhen Residential 400 m2 The exterior wall is constructed using three types of insulation Jiao et al. (2012)
building materials for external, intermediate, and internal insulation. The
roof is constructed using green insulation boards and the
vegetation is arranged. The window is fabricated using heat-
insulated Low-E insulation glass
Nanjing Public 5500 m2 The “three-glass and two-cavity” glass curtain wall with outer Nanjing Zhongdan Ecologic
building hollow and inner vacuum glazing is adopted, and the skylight (2016)
system utilizes solar power window technology

building’s total energy consumption (Li, 2014b). The heat transfer
coefficient, orientation, and window-to-wall ratio are the main
factors affecting the energy consumption of windows.
No national standard exists on the range of heat transfer coef-
ficient for windows used in zero-energy buildings. Design stan-
dards for ultra-low-, nearly zero-, and zero-energy residential
building in some provinces and cities recommended the high limit
of the heat transfer coefficient of the external window to be 1.0 W/
(m2.K) (Wang and Wang, 2018), which is difficult to achieve using
ordinary wood, plastic, steel, and other windows. Currently, new
types of windows such as bridge-cutoff aluminum alloy and plastic
steel windows with hollow glass, Low-E glass, and vacuum glass are
commonly used in China. Studies indicate that double-layer glazing
can reduce heat loss by approximately half compared with normal
single-layer transparent glass (Li, 2014b). Chen et al. (2008) intro-
duced an electrochromic glazing whose heat transfer coefficient
was measured to be less than 0.3 W/(m2.K).
Window orientation and window-to-wall ratio (WWR) are two
other important factors affecting building energy consumption. On
one hand, the use of daylighting, natural ventilation, and solar
energy in buildings is primarily achieved through windows. On the
other hand, the heat transfer coefficient of the window is generally
higher than that of the wall, and a large window area ratio will
inevitably lead to a higher building energy consumption. Therefore,
determining an appropriate window-to-wall ratio according to the
local climatic conditions for energy-saving purposes is necessary
(Luo, 2011). The “Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Resi-
dential Buildings in Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zones” (JGJ
134e2010) (Xu et al., 2010a) stipulates that the WWRs for the
north, east and west, and south facades should not exceed 0.40,
0.35, and 0.45, respectively.
3.3.3. Roof
Energy consumption due to heat loss from the roof accounts for
approximately 8e10% of the total energy consumption of multi-
story buildings (Lei, 2010). The thermal performance of the roof is
affected by many factors, such as its structural type, insulation,
color, thickness, and thermal resistance (Zhao, 2017). Therefore, the
energy-saving design for zero-energy building roofs should be
guided by the following principles (Wang and Wang, 2006): select
new insulation materials with low thermal conductivity, high
compressive strength, low water absorption rate, and lightweight;
increase the thickness of the insulation layer appropriately to
reduce heat loss; apply waterproof and exhaust layers to balance
the moisture content of the insulation layer; and adopt ecological
energy-saving roofs with a high-level thermal insulation.
The research in China on the roofs of zero-energy buildings
primarily focuses on thermal insulation performance. Increasing
the thermal insulation performance of a roof can reduce heat loss
and thus air conditioning requirements while improving indoor
thermal comfort (Zhang and Chen, 2001). Tang et al. (Tang and
Wang, 2014) studied the temperature attenuation and time lag of
green roofs on the ambient air temperature fluctuations. Their re-
sults indicated that the average temperature attenuation multiplier
of a green roof is more than doubled and the time lag is shortened
compared with a non-green roof. The average surface temperature
of green roofs in summer is approximately 6  C lower than that of
ordinary insulated roofs, while the average indoor temperature is
approximately 3  C lower (Jian, 2008a).
3.3.4. Thermo-physical properties of the building material
The thermo-physical properties of a building’s envelope signif-
icantly affect the indoor environment when responding to the
ambient environment. For example, the thermal mass of the
building envelope can affect the fluctuation amplitude of the in-
door air temperature and, thus, the operation of air-conditioners
(Zeng, 2015). Bai et al. (2013) used the eQuest program to simu-
late the cooling load of residential buildings in Chongqing and
analyzed the effect of the thermal inertia index on the accumulative
cooling load under different air-conditioner operation modes. They
observed that when the thermal inertia index was less than 3, its
effect on the accumulative cooling load was not apparent. Wang
(2003) performed an experiment and simulation to study the ef-
fect of different thermal masses on the start/stop duration time of
the air-conditioner and proposed that the operation time of the air-
conditioner can be adjusted according to the thermal mass of the
building to reduce energy consumption while maintaining indoor
thermal comfort. Liu (2014a) proposed an integrated thermal
 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297
inertia index that considers the combined effect of the thermal
mass from both the external building envelope and internal ther-
mal mass in response to the external weather condition.
The thermal storage performance of a building’s envelope can
be described by thermal inertia, the decrement factor, and time lag.
Zhang (2013) evaluated the architectural characteristics of tradi-
tional houses in different climate regions and concluded that the
thermal storage performance has the largest effect on a building’s
energy performance in severe-cold and cold regions; natural
ventilation is the most effective passive strategy in the hot-summer
and warm-winter region; and thermal storage and natural venti-
lation are both effective in hot-summer and cold-winter region.
Zhang et al. (2010) studied the effect of different wall orientations
on the decrement factor and time lag of indoor-temperature fluc-
tuation in Lanzhou. Through the analysis of on-site experimental
data, they observed that different wall orientations have significant
effects on the decrement factor and time lag of indoor-temperature
fluctuation. Wang et al. (2010) conducted a theoretical investiga-
tion of different wall structures and their thermal properties. They
observed that the thermal inertia and overall heat transfer coeffi-
cient together could not completely determine the thermal per-
formance of the wall, and the degradation rate of the building
material determines the energy-saving performance. Improving
the thermal insulation may result in a decrease in cumulative
heating load and an increase in the cumulative cooling load owing
to the effect of the thermal inertia (Hui, 2012).
3.3.5. Airtightness
A building’s airtightness refers to the resistance of unintentional
air infiltration or exfiltration through the building’s envelope and is
frequently measured as air change rate per hour (ACH) under
certain pressure differences between indoor and outdoor air (Ju
et al., 2015). Because of the difference between the outdoor and
indoor air enthalpies, the airtightness contributes significantly to a
building’s energy consumption. Unlike other countries, China does
not have a standard requirement for the overall airtightness of the
building. Instead, the Chinese standard defines eight levels of
airtightness for the door and window, based on the air flow rate
through the length of the opening or through the opening area for a
10- Pa difference between indoor and outdoor air, with level 1
being the lowest (3.5e4.0 m3/m$h or 10.5e12.0 m3/m2$h) and level
8 as the highest (0e0.5 m3/m$h or 0e1.5 m3/m2$h) (China Academy
of Building Research, 2009).
Most of the studies focus on the improvement of air tightness to
reduce building energy consumption. For example, Zhang et al.
(2016) studied the effect of window and/door airtightness on a
building’s energy consumption for residential buildings in Nanjing,
by using the DeST building simulation software; they observed, and
found that during heating, cooling, and transition seasons, the
accumulative thermal loads decrease as the airtightness level in-
creases. When the airtightness level increased from level 1 to level
8, the decreases in the accumulative heating load, cooling, and
annual thermal loads were 51.5,%, 32.6,% and 46.7%, respectively.
Zhou et al. (2007) studied the effect of airtightness on the annual
building energy consumption in Ningbo through a simulation and
observed that when the air change rate decreased from 1 ACH to 0.1
ACH (airtightness of the windows increased from level 2 to level 5),
the cooling energy consumption remained unchanged while the
heating energy consumption and annual electricity consumption
decreased by 77% and 15%, respectively. Gao et al. (2019b) con-
ducted field measurements on the building airtightness in a rural
area in North China and observed that the building airtightness was
as high as 13.8 ACH. Through building energy simulation using
DeST, they concluded that 74% of energy could be saved by
increasing the building airtightness.
7
Fig. 3. Proportion of building energy consumption in China (Wang and Zhang, 2008).
However, excessively decreasing the fresh air through the
building envelope can lead to negative effects on occupants’ health
and demands on mechanical ventilation to supply sufficient fresh
air flow to the building to maintain a good indoor air quality. Peng
et al. (2010) evaluated the effect of airtightness level on the heating
energy consumption of the buildings in the hot-summer and cold-
winter region in China and concluded that as with the increase of
the airtightness level increased, the fan energy consumption was
increased significantly, resulting in the increase in heating energy
consumption. Feng et al. (2014) studied the effect of airtightness
level and ventilation mode on the heating and cooling energy
consumption in different climatic regions in China. They observed
that, compared with fully closed windows, adjustable window
opening could lead to decreases in cooling energy reduction in
Harbin (severe cold region), Beijing (cold region), Shanghai (hot-
summer and cold-winter region), and Guangzhou (hot-summer
and warm-winter region) by 100,%, 89.5,%, 64.7, and 64.7%,
respectively; if the windows were fully closed and the airtightness
level was high, the energy savings were not apparent; and when
hybrid ventilation (mechanical ventilation þ natural ventilation)
was applied, the total energy consumption could be reduced with
the increase in the airtightness. Lu et al. (2019) developed a nearly
zero-energy building model for hot-summer and warm-winter
regions, in the TRNSYS environment. They concluded that natural
ventilation can be adopted to increase a building’s energy efficiency
when the air change rate is equal to or less than 3.0 ACH (at a 50- Pa
indoor-/outdoor air pressure difference), and mechanical ventila-
tion is suitable to be adopted when the air change rate is less than
or equal to 1.0 ACH.
The above literature review on building envelop design in-
dicates that the building envelop is a relatively mature research
area for zero-energy buildings. However, further research on the
integration and optimization of building envelopes with mechan-
ical and electrical equipment is required for achieving more energy
savings.
3.4. Mechanical and electrical equipment
Energy consumption in a building includes heating, cooling,
domestic hot water supply, cooking, lighting, household appliances,
elevators, and ventilation (Fig. 3) (Wang and Zhang, 2008). In China,
as the economy develops, the use of heating and air-conditioning
facilities has increased significantly, making heating and air-
conditioning the two largest consumers of building energy.
Owing to the poor thermal performance of building envelopes and
the low efficiency of mechanical equipment, the energy con-
sumption per unit area is 2e3 times higher than that of developed
8 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297
countries with the same climatic conditions and level of indoor
comfort (Su, 2017). Currently, in China, fuel and electricity are the
main energy utilization forms for air-conditioning and heating
systems, and the electricity utilization rate in summer can extend
to 82.35% (Liu, 2010). To reduce the consumption of electricity and
non-renewable energy, China has adopted active energy-saving
technologies in building design through the utilization of wind
energy, solar energy, and various geothermal resources (Jing, 2003).
Common active energy-saving technologies are used for heating
and air-conditioning, ventilation, lighting, and water systems in
buildings in China.
3.4.1. Energy-saving technology for heating and air conditioning
systems
The amount of energy consumed by an air-conditioning system
is a key indicator of whether a building is energy efficient.
Currently, the ground source heat pump (GSHP) system is the
most widely used technology for energy savings in zero-energy
buildings in China. Ground-source heat pumps use shallow
geothermal energy to heat and cool the building and provide do-
mestic hot water (Zhang and Wang, 2012). Compared with tradi-
tional air-conditioning systems, GSHP systems have a higher
coefficient of performance (COP), lower pollution, and lower
maintenance cost (Fang, 2012). Li et al. (2015a) analyzed the sum-
mer and winter operation modes of a GSHP system for a nearly
zero-energy building through measured data. The results indicated
that the GSHP system contributes to 54.5% of cooling in summer
and approximately 97% of heating in winter. It can adequately
satisfy the heating requirements of a building.
3.4.2. Ventilation technology
Two main methods of building ventilation exist in China: nat-
ural and mechanical ventilation (Zhang, 2014a). Natural ventilation
is driven by wind and thermal buoyancy to maintain indoor ther-
mal comfort and does not require additional energy. Therefore, it is
commonly used in zero-energy buildings.
Natural ventilation requires effective passive designs of build-
ings and the following design strategies should be adopted (Alheji
et al., 2014): (1) Set the size and direction of the ventilation area of
the windows reasonably to ensure certain wind pressure and
thermal buoyancy; (2) Use cross-ventilation to enhance indoor air
movement; (3) Select the appropriate window size, opening posi-
tion, and opening method.
Wind hoods with heat recovery functions are frequently
installed on the roof of a building to reduce the heat loss due to air
changes through ventilation (Fig. 4) (Li, 2014b). Using the wind
hoods, the indoor air is exhausted through thermal buoyancy; the
incoming outdoor air is then heated by the exhaust air via the heat
exchange device in the hoods; this reduces the energy requirement
of the air conditioner for warming the fresh air. Studies indicated
Fig. 4. Passive ventilation hoods (Li, 2014b).
that the heat recovery rate by the passive wind hoods can be up to
70% (Liu, 2014b).
3.4.3. Lighting technology
Lighting energy accounts for approximately 15% of the overall
building energy consumption (Zhang, 2018). Therefore, designing
an energy-efficient lighting system to reduce a building’s energy
consumption is important. The lighting design for zero-energy
buildings should adopt the following principles:
(1) Fully utilize daylighting: reduce the lighting electricity con-
sumption by introducing sunlight through overall architec-
tural planning and building shape optimization, reflection,
and shading (Fan, 2013). Currently, atrium daylighting
(Fig. 5a) and light-guide tubes (Fig. 5b) are typically used for
daylighting in China (Zhou, 2014).
(2) Select energy-efficient lighting sources: LED lighting sources
are widely used, and they generate low heat and have high
luminous efficiencies. With the same level of illumination
and color temperature, LED lighting sources have lower en-
ergy consumption and longer life and are more environ-
mentally friendly (Xiong, 2018). Studies indicated that LEDs
can save 33e50% energy and its average life span is 30 times
that of traditional incandescent lamps (Cao, 2013).
(3) Use intelligent control: Intelligent lighting control technol-
ogy can aid in saving lighting energy. While ensuring lighting
quality and demand, lighting energy saving is achieved
through reasonable control of the lighting time, brightness of
lighting, and number of lighting fixtures (Jian, 2008b).
Luo et al. (Luo and Hu, 2017) studied an adaptive lighting control
system in nearly zero-energy buildings. Using the fuzzy logic
method, they observed that different management modes must be
adopted to control a building’s shading and lighting systems to
achieve thermal comfort and energy savings. Zhu et al. (Zhu, 2014)
invented a new active light-tracking illumination system based on
ARM technology. The system is primarily used for 24-h zero-energy
indoor lighting by effectively utilizing solar energy.
3.4.4. Water system energy-saving technology
China is a country with a shortage of water resources. Rainwater
harvesting is primarily adopted in zero-energy residential districts
to reduce water consumption (Lin, 2017). The collected rainwater
can be directly used for road cleaning, toilet flushing, car washing,
plant irrigation, etc. Moreover, the infiltration of rainwater is useful
in reducing the runoff of rainwater, alleviating urban waterlogging
hazards, and preventing water pollution (Ma, 2018; Wang and Liu,
2010).
For example, the “O-House” (Zhang et al., 2014a) used a siphonic
drainage method to collect and purify rainwater for plant irrigation,
 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297
Fig. 5. Building daylighting design (Ye et al., 2013).
rinsing landscape platforms, washing vehicles, etc., to achieve
efficient use of water resources. Zhang et al. (Zhang and Xie, 2017)
explored a roadmap for transforming university buildings from
green buildings to zero-energy buildings using water-saving ap-
pliances, efficient water supply equipment, and rainwater har-
vesting to maximize water savings.
The above literature review on mechanical and electrical
equipment indicates that much of the research focused on the
energy-efficient technology itself alone. As mentioned earlier,
further research on the integration and optimization of building
envelope with mechanical and electrical equipment to achieve
more energy savings should be conducted.
3.5. Solar energy utilization
3.5.1. Status of solar energy utilization
Achieving zero-energy consumption requires optimizing the
building envelope to reduce the heating and cooling loads by using
renewable energy resources to reduce energy consumption. Solar
energy resources in China are abundant with 2/3 of the area
receiving an annual solar radiation greater than 5000 MJ/m2 (Liu,
2007). The use of solar energy in zero-energy buildings in China
primarily includes solar thermal and photoelectric utilization (Yu,
2015). Table 3 summarizes the applications of solar thermal and
photoelectric utilization in zero-energy buildings in China.
3.5.2. Solar thermal utilization
Solar thermal utilization is a relatively mature technology in
China; it converts light energy to thermal energy for heating water,
air, and other media through solar energy collection and conversion
devices, to satisfy the production and building-occupant re-
quirements (Cai, 2018). The two most common solar thermal
technologies in zero-energy buildings are passive and active solar
energy utilization (Ren, 2010).
3.5.2.1. Passive solar thermal utilization. Passive solar thermal uti-
lization refers to the collection, storage, and utilization of solar
energy through the rational design of building envelopes without
consuming any non-renewable energy while maintaining a ther-
mally comfortable indoor environment and reducing cooling and
heating energy requirements (Yin, 2011). A passive solar house uses
this technology to keep the building cool in summer and warm in
winter. The common types of passive solar houses in China are
direct benefit, heat collecting and heat storage wall, attached sun
room, and roof pool (Ye et al., 2012).
The first passive solar house was built in Gansu Province in 1977.
Owing to excellent thermal performance, passive solar houses
developed rapidly in China and received extensive interest from
9
many scholars in China (Gao, 2006). The majority of current studies
focus on design optimization and performance analysis of passive
solar houses.
Design optimization is an attempt to determine the optimal
values for the thermal parameters of the envelope to reduce
building energy consumption and improve indoor comfort. Wang
et al. (2016a) proposed a new type of solar house structure using
a heat collection and storage roof for which the roof slope, circu-
lating air flow rate, and thermal insulation structure were opti-
mized. They observed that flat and 45 -slope roofs can aid in
increasing the average base room temperature by 5.0 and 8.3  C,
respectively. If external insulation is applied to the roof, the average
room temperature can be increased by 2.5 and 3.4  C, respectively.
Liu et al. (Liu, 1999) introduced a zero-energy-auxiliary heating
solar system by combining cave dwellings with an attached sun-
room. The thermal calculation and design method for the solar cave
house was proposed to ensure that the indoor air would be higher
than the design temperature of 16  C in northern Shanxi Province.
Performance analysis on the passive solar houses aims to eval-
uate the energy-saving potential and achieve the maximum
building energy-saving. Wang et al. (2013) studied the heating
performance of the Trombe wall-type solar house in the Qinghai-
Tibet Plateau. Through tests and analysis, the results indicated
that the daily average thermal efficiency of the Trombe wall can
extend to 69.7%. Compared with a building with a normal wall, the
Trombe wall can store 52.6 MJ more energy during the day with an
energy-saving rate of 72.8%. Chen et al. (2006) studied the regula-
tion of the Trombe wall on the indoor air humidity by comparing
the physical parameters of two different buildings. The results
demonstrated that the indoor relative humidity of a building with a
Trombe wall is approximately 20% lower than that of the building
with a normal wall.
3.5.2.2. Active solar thermal utilization. Active solar thermal utili-
zation is the conversion of solar energy into thermal energy to
provide heating and domestic hot water in buildings (Zeng and
Ding, 2017). In Northern China, winter is cold and dry with a long
heating period and a large amount of energy consumption. The
energy consumption for building heating and domestic hot water
supply accounts for two-thirds of the total energy consumption of a
building in winter (Wang and Tang, 2009). Therefore, the use of
solar energy for heating and hot water supply is an important
method to achieve zero energy consumption in buildings.
Different living areas have different requirements of tempera-
ture and flow rate for domestic hot water. The appropriate selection
of heat sources can aid in increasing system energy efficiency. Liu
et al. (2014) studied the heat source selection of a domestic hot
water system in the cultural center at Jiefang South Road in Tianjin.
10 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297

Table 3
Applications of solar thermal and photoelectric utilization in zero-energy buildings in China.

Project name Location Project information Solar thermal utilization Photoelectric utilization Ref

Hamburg House Shanghai Construction area: 3150 m2, net use area
2300 m2, one underground story and
four stories above the ground, World
Expo Case Museum
Sino-Singapore Tianjin Construction area: 3467 m2, two stories
Tianjin Eco-city above the ground with an area of
Public Housing 3013 m2, one underground floor with an
Exhibition Center area of 454 m2, and the total building
height is 15 m, including public housing
display, sales, housing management
office, and archive storage.
University of Ningbo Construction area of 1556.3 m2, floor
Nottingham area of 3878 m2, five stories above the
Ningbo ground with a total area of 705 m2, one
Sustainable underground story with an area of
Energy 851.3 m2. Comprises offices,
Technology laboratories, and seminar rooms.
Research Center
Building
Douglas Zero-Energy Shandong Construction area of 1252 m2, with
Village frame structure, one underground story,
and four stories above the ground, a
total of 10 apartments.
2
Jiefang South Road Tianjin The building area is 11662 m , with four Solar thermal system to provide
Cultural and floors above ground and one
Sports Center underground floor. Total height of the
building is 23.78 m. Activity rooms and
conference rooms are on the south side
and swimming pool and badminton hall
on the north.
Passive solar house, (heating energy
consumption 15 kW h/m2$a)
High-temperature ground source heat
pump coupled solar thermal
system þ Liquid desiccant
humidification control
system þ Variable refrigerant flow as air
conditioning cold and heat source
Solar water heater (collector area of
114 m2) for the absorption chiller
The roof is equipped with 139.5 m2 solar
collectors, with an annual average daily
heat collection of 1308.5 MJ. It
integrates technologies such as solar
water heating, solar cooling and heating,
solar cobblestone cross-season energy
storage, and passive solar house.
domestic hot water.
450 m2 photovoltaic power generation Wiescholek
equipment installed on the roof and
(satisfies 80% of the building energy Dieterre
demand) (2010)
292.95 kWp photovoltaic power Sun and
generation system with a total capacity Dong
of approximately 295 MW h/a (2015)
43.7 kWp solar photovoltaic Wu et al.
independent power generation (2008)
system þ0.5 kWp small-scale wind
power generation system
168 m2, 13 kW photovoltaic grid- Zhai et al.
connected power generation system is (2011)
installed on the roof to provide approx.
48% energy requirement for the
building.
Photovoltaic power generation system Li et al.
is installed in the sloping roof, the glass (2013)
roof of the atrium, and the top of the
parking shed and the surrounding walls.
The total installed capacity of solar
photovoltaic is 794.48 kWp, and the
total power generation is approx.
815 MW h/a.

By using discarded geothermal water, an air source heat pump, and
solar energy as the heat sources for domestic hot water in different
living areas, 97.2% of the annual heating requirements were satis-
fied, effectively reducing the domestic hot-water energy
consumption.
Combined active and passive solar heating systems are often
used in zero-energy buildings. Pei et al. (Pei and Zhang, 2002)
studied the effects of passive and active solar heating on the indoor
thermal environment in the cold region. They observed that the use
of combined active and passive solar heating can increase the in-
door temperature by 15e25  C in the cold area in winter. Mao et al.
(2005) analyzed the performance of the solar heating system of an
observation post building in the severe-cold region in the plateau.
They observed that through the application of passive and active
solar heat collecting technology combined with phase-change-
material heat storage technology, the system can continuously
supply heating to a building in winter. Liu et al. (Liu and Shen, 2008)
studied the passive and active technologies used in the residential
heating systems in Lhasa. They observed that, through appropriate
design, the solar heating system can provide sufficient heating for a
residential building up to four-floors in this area for 80% of the time.
3.5.3. Solar power utilization
Solar power generation is indispensable in zero-energy build-
ings, where solar energy is converted to electricity through solar
cells to satisfy the electricity demand of the building (Zhao, 2005).
Some scholars suggested that the annual solar power generation in
a zero-energy building should account for more than 10% of a
building’s energy consumption (Zhou, 2014).
Solar photovoltaic power generation systems can be divided
into off-grid and grid-connected power generation systems based
on whether they are connected to the public grid or not (Zhang
et al., 2014b; Zhang, 2014b). Compared with the off-grid power
generation system, the grid-connected power generation system
can guarantee the stability and continuity of building electricity
supply. In addition, the electric energy supply generated can be
optimized to maximize the utilization of electrical energy. Grid-
connected photovoltaic power generation systems are widely
used in zero-energy buildings in China. Fig. 6 shows a simplified
diagram of a grid-connected photovoltaic power generation system
for zero-energy buildings (Lu, 2014). The Chinese government has
conducted relevant incentive measures to promote the develop-
ment of grid-connected photovoltaic power generation systems,
which led to a successful domestic grid-connected PV market in
China.
Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) has become the
mainstream trend for zero-energy buildings and primarily includes
a photovoltaic roof, facade, shading, tile, and door and window
(Guo et al., 2012). A notable advantage of the BIPV system is that it
does not occupy any extra building areas. Li et al. (2016) studied the
BIPV system at the Sustainable Energy Technology Center at the
University of Nottingham in Ningbo and concluded that BIPV is
most applicable in the rural areas with sufficient solar radiation,
low building density, and shortage of power supply.
Conversion efficiency can reflect the performance of photovol-
taic power generation systems. The commonly used photovoltaic
cells in China include crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells,
thin-film cells, and silicon heterojunction PV cells with conversion
efficiencies of 15, 7, and 18.9%, respectively (Wang, 2011). The
location of a PV can also affect its conversion efficiency. Optimal PV
orientation, position, and tilted angle can aid in maximizing the
reception of solar radiation, thereby increasing its conversion
 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297
Fig. 6. Grid-connected photovoltaic power generation system for zero-energy buildings (Lu, 2014).
efficiency. Li et al. (Li and Dou, 2017) analyzed the PV power gen-
eration capacity and energy consumption for a single-family
dwelling in Wuhan and observed that an annual maximum radia-
tion can be achieved when the installation angle of the PV panels is
18 .
The above literature review on solar energy utilization indicates
that the research on solar energy in zero-energy buildings pri-
marily focuses on the performance analysis of passive and active
solar system and BIPV systems. In the future research work, new
design features of passive and active solar systems, optimal sizing
in PV and batteries, and energy management strategies, require
further consideration.
4. Zero-energy building applications in China
4.1. Typical projects of zero-energy buildings
With the progress of building energy-saving technology in
China, more zero-energy buildings have emerged recently. Most of
these buildings are low-rise office buildings or detached houses
and can be generally classified into two categories: zero-energy
demonstration projects and zero-energy real estate projects (Li,
2017). Table 4 lists some typical zero-energy demonstration pro-
jects and real estate projects in China. Note that no actual “zero-
energy consumption building” exists, and there is still a gap to
satisfy the requirements of zero-energy building standards pre-
scribed in developed countries. Only Shanghai Dongtan Eco-city
(Fig. 7) (Dongtan Eco-City, 2009) and Guangzhou Zhujiang City
Building (Fig. 8) (Cui and Zhang, 2011) have fulfilled zero-energy
consumption requirements.
The zero-energy demonstration and real estate projects are pilot
explorations of zero-energy buildings in China. The successful
completion of these projects has laid a solid foundation for the
development of zero-energy buildings in China and, in particular,
provided valuable guidelines for the construction of zero-energy
buildings and communities in the future. Some developed cities
in China such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have
already explored the design methods and related technologies for
zero-energy buildings and communities (Liu, 2014b; Jin, 2011).
4.2. Design method
Buildings designed by traditional design methods are unlikely to
satisfy the performance requirements of zero-energy buildings (Lu
et al., 2016).Appropriate building design methods can effectively
reduce the energy consumption to obtain the expected energy-
saving benefits and achieve the performance requirements of
zero-energy buildings. The following paragraph presents some
actual projects that have explored different design methods for
11
zero-energy buildings in China. Wu (2014) proposed a
performance-based design method for ultra-low-energy buildings
based on integration and parameter optimization and applied it to
the construction of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city Public
Housing Exhibition Center. Feng et al. (Jin and Tang, 2013) used
sensitivity analysis to improve the design of the nearly zero-
energy-consumption residential building demonstration center of
Shenyang Jianzhu University to minimize its energy consumption.
Lu et al. (2016) proposed a robust optimization design method for
renewable energy systems of zero-energy buildings based on un-
certainty analysis and applied it to zero-carbon buildings in Hong
Kong. Wang et al. (2016b) reviewed the design methods for ultra-
low-energy building and recommended three methods for gen-
eral applicationdthe key parameter limit, two-way cross balance,
and economic environment decision methods.
The above literature review on design methods of zero-energy
buildings indicates that much of the research focused on
performance-based design and economically efficient design.
Limited research focused on the developing various software tools
for a streamlined design process. Therefore, we suggest further
research on the development of more robust design tools that can
capture all the design parameters and minimize the performance
gap between the design stage and operation stage of zero-energy
buildings.
4.3. Energy allocation strategy and operation management
Achieving zero-energy consumption relies on the application of
various energy-saving measures and equipment and requires
effective energy management measures. As the energy consumed
during the operation stage accounts for 80e90% of the total
building energy consumption (Yang, 2012), effective energy man-
agement is essential to aid in increasing a system’s operation effi-
ciency and reduce the operation energy consumption. The energy
management system for zero-energy buildings consists of three
major parts: energy consumption collection and analysis, building
energy allocation control strategy, and operation control strategy
(Wang et al., 2015).
Most of the energy management systems for zero-energy
buildings in China are intelligent control systems (Liu, 2014b). Li
et al. (2015b) analyzed the application of building automation
system (BAS) technology in the nearly zero-energy demonstration
building of the China Academy of Building Research (CABR) and
observed that this technology could significantly increase the
building system’s energy efficiency. Lu et al. (2014) proposed con-
trol strategies for the air-conditioner, phase-change material, and
shading system in a zero-energy house using a Mitsubishi pro-
grammable logic controller (PLC) for the energy management sys-
tem. Huang et al. (Huang and Su, 2018) designed an optical storage
12 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297

Table 4
Typical zero-energy demonstration projects and zero-energy real estate projects in China.

Project name Type Location Project information Effect of Energy saving Ref.

Nanjing Fengshang Real estate Nanjing Construction area of 53290 m2, total construction Annual savings of 1.32 million kWh Chen
International area of 75000 m2 (2013)
Apartment
Shanghai. Ecologist Total construction area of 3001 m2, five stories,
Demonstration Shanghai The total energy consumption during the 184 Han et al.
four stories above ground with an area of 2217 m2, days of the Expo was 66.9 kWh/m2, and the (2009)
one story underground with an area of 784 m2 energy-saving rate was 60%.
University of Nottingham Demonstration Ningbo Construction area of 1556.3 m2, floor area of Carbon emissions reduction of 448.9 t in the next Wu et al.
Ningbo Sustainable 3878 m2, five stories above the ground with an 20 years, total energy saving of over 65% (2008)
Energy Technology area of 705 m2, and one story underground with
Research Center an area of 851.3 m2, primarily including an office,
Building laboratory, and conference room
Guangzhou Zhujiang City Demonstration Guangzhou Construction area of 210,000 m2, with five floors In theory, at least 60% reduction in energy Cui and
Building underground, 71 floors above ground and 309.6 m consumption can be achieved during operation Zhang
in height, ultra-high-rise building (2011)
Tsinghua University ultra- Demonstration Beijing Floor area of 560 m2, total construction area of Annual electricity consumption of 40 kWh/m2, Jiang et al.
low energy 3000 m2, 5 stories, four stories above the ground, average energy consumption of 30% that of (2004)
demonstration building one story underground, including office, labs and similar buildings in Beijing, electricity
related auxiliary rooms consumption from air-conditioning in summer of
10% that of ordinary buildings
2
Hong Kong “Zero Carbon Demonstration Hong Kong Floor area of 14700 m , construction area of about Energy reduction of approx. 45%, and uses Hong Kong
2
World” 5000 m , two floors above ground, one floor renewable energy to generate electricity to Zero
underground reduce carbon emissions by 7100 t in the next 50 Carbon
years World
(2012)
Chenggong University Demonstration Taiwan Floor area of 4800 m2, construction area of Energy-saving of 65%, water-saving of 50%, green Lin (2011)
“Green Magic School” 3054 m2, three floors above ground, one floor building materials use rate of 100%
underground
Tianjin Wantong Xinxin Real estate Tianjin Floor area of 543 m2, construction area of Energy consumption for air-conditioning of Jian (2010)
Home Club 1245.7 m2, three floors above the ground with area 32.72 kWh/(m2$a), total energy consumption of
of 953.2 m2, one underground floor with area of 47.16 kWh/(m2$a), energy saving of 60%.
292.5 m2
Suntech Solar Power Co., Real estate Wuxi Construction area of 16000 m2, including R&D Annual net power generation of 1.1 million kWh, Jin (2011)
Ltd. R & D Building building (7 floors) and recreation building (3 more than 80% of the building electrical energy
floors) demand.

Fig. 7. Shanghai dongtan eco-city (Dongtan Eco-City, 2009). Fig. 8. Guangzhou pearl river city building (Jin, 2011).

micro-grid and intelligent control system based on a PLC for a zero-
energy house in Beijing. Through intelligent control, a balance be-
tween PV grid-connected power generation and system power
consumption was achieved.
Energy management systems aim at optimizing energy distri-
bution through statistical data analysis to optimize a building en-
ergy allocation system and fully utilize available resources (Ma,
2017). Yu et al. (2017) applied principal component analysis (PCA)
in building energy management and proved its applicability in the
statistical analysis of building energy consumption and energy
management. Long et al. (2018) proposed a six-step energy
planning approach, which solved the problem of uncoordinated
demand and supply sides for renewable energy usage in nearly
zero-energy buildings.
5. Policies and development issues
5.1. Policies
Table 5 summarizes the relevant building energy efficiency
policies and standards in China up to date. Note that these stan-
dards were constantly updated and improved from 1986 to 2019
 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297 13

Table 5
Relevant building energy efficiency policies and standards in China.

Time policy/standard Information Ref.

1986 Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Civil Buildings Energy-saving of 30% based on the energy consumption level of residential buildings Yang (1988)
(Part of Residential Building Heating) (JGJ 26e86) designed in 1980e1981.
1995 Civil Building Energy Efficiency Design Standard (Part of Energy-saving of 30% based on JGJ 26e86 design standards to achieve the goal of 50% Yang (1996)
Residential Building Heating) (JGJ 26e95) energy saving.
1997 The People’s Republic of China Energy Conservation Law Stipulates means of conducting energy conservation management, rational use of People’s
energy, energy conservation technology progress, and legal responsibility. Republic of
China (1997)
2001 Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Residential Specifies indicators for indoor thermal environment and building energy-saving Lan et al. (2001)
Buildings in Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zone (JGJ 134 design and comprehensive energy-saving for buildings, and proposes energy-saving
e2001) design for building and thermal insulation and energy-saving design requirements for
heating, air conditioning, and ventilation system.
2005 Public Building Energy Efficiency Design Standards (GB Introduces building energy-saving objectives and targets, energy-saving design Lan (2005)
50189-2005) methods, indoor environmental setpoints, building thermal design, and design
principles for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems.
2006 Assessment Standard for Green Building (GB/T 50378- Green building evaluation indicators are defined in terms of a building site and Wang (2006)
2006) outdoor environment, energy conservation, and energy resources utilization, water
conservation and water resources usage, material conservation and material resource
utilization, indoor environmental quality and operation management.
2007 Code for acceptance of energy-efficient building Acceptance of energy-efficient walls, doors, windows, roof, and ground building Pan (2008)
construction (GB 50411-2007) construction.
2009 Standard for energy efficiency test of public buildings (JGJ/ Standardizes the content, testing methods, qualified indicators, and determination Zou et al. (2010)
T 177e2009) methods of energy saving testing in public buildings.
2009 Technical code for the retrofitting of public buildings on Standardizes the procedures, methods, and contents of energy-saving renovation of Xu et al. (2010b)
energy efficiency (JGJ 176e2009) public buildings, and provides a basis for energy-saving renovation of existing public
buildings.
2010 Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Residential Save 30% energy based on JGJ 26e95 design standards to achieve an energy-saving Chen et al.
Buildings in Severe Cold and Cold Zones (JGJ 26e2010) target of 65%. (2012)
2012 Design standard for energy efficiency of residential First local standard to achieve an energy-saving of 75% for residential buildings. Sun and Wang
buildings (Beijing) (DB11/891e2012) (2012)
2012 Technical specification for energy efficiency retrofitting of Proposes judgment principles and determination methods for energy-saving Lin and Pan
existing residential buildings (JGJ/T129-2012) renovation of existing buildings, energy-saving renovation measures, and (2013)
requirements for building envelopes and heating systems.
2015 Passive Ultra Low Energy Green Building Technology Clarifies the definition of passive ultra-low-energy green buildings in China, technical Xu et al. (2015)
Guidelines (Residential building) indicators for different climatic zones, and technical points for design, construction,
operation, and evaluation.
2017 The 13th Five-Year Plan for Building Energy Efficiency and Proposes “actively conducting demonstration of ultra-low-energy buildings and Building Energy
Green Building Development construction of nearly zero-energy buildings, and encourage pilot projects for zero- Conservat
energy buildings”. (2017)
2019 Technical standard for nearly zero-energy buildings (GB/ Defines the related concepts of ultra-low-energy, nearly zero-energy, and zero-energy GB/T 51350-
T51350-2019) buildings in China; specifies indoor environmental setpoints and building energy 2019 (2019)
consumption indicators, technical performance indicators, measures, and evaluation
method.

and the nearly zero-energy consumption stage has gradually
commenced. The regulations and standards encompassed all
stages, including design, construction, operation, monitoring and
evaluation, and post-maintenance and retrofit. The formulation of
relevant laws and regulations effectively aids in increasing the
building energy efficiency, but many factors restricting the pro-
motion and practice of zero-energy buildings in China remain,
which are discussed comprehensively in the following section.
5.2. Problems encountered
5.2.1. Standard definition of zero-energy building
The key to the design and performance evaluation of zero-
energy buildings is their definition (Feng et al., 2016). Different
definitions may lead to different energy saving requirements and
standards. From an international perspective, many developed
countries have proposed similar but different definitions of zero-
energy buildings according to their national conditions. Until
recently, the technical standard for nearly zero-energy buildings
(GB/T51350-2019) (GB/T51350-2019, 2019) defined zero-energy
buildings in China as buildings with annual renewable energy
production equal to or greater than their energy consumption. This
definition proposed a standard method for measurement and
verification for zero-energy buildings in China.
5.2.2. Immature technology system
Because of a lack of technological-innovation capability in most
domestic enterprises in the zero-energy building industry, the
research and development of new materials and equipment remain
inadequate, and the application of new technologies is based solely
on foreign standards and guidelines. Additionally, the scale of
related enterprises in China is small and unable to achieve stan-
dardized and industrialized production requirements. Some high-
efficiency energy-saving equipment and building materials must
rely on imports (Xu, 2016). Therefore, enhancing the capacity of
independent research and development of enterprises and pro-
moting the optimization and upgrading of industrial structures
have become urgent problems in the development of zero-energy
buildings in China (Sun, 2016; Tang, 2007).
5.2.3. Insufficient education and lack of promotion of zero-energy
buildings
Because the promotion on zero-energy buildings is at a small
scale, and there is insufficient policy support for zero-energy
demonstration projects, the social impact of zero-energy build-
ings is minimal in China (Yuan, 2016). Additionally, most real estate
developers and consumer groups are largely unaware of energy
conservation as they have an inadequate understanding of zero-
energy buildings. Zero-energy buildings are still a new concept
14 Y. Lin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 276 (2020) 123297
that has not yet spread into the public realm in China. Zero-energy
buildings are widely considered to entail large expenses, which
makes it difficult to promote zero-energy buildings in China (Zhang
and Wang, 2007; Xia, 2019).
5.2.4. Lack of incentive policies
Economic measures and policy stimuli are important drivers of
the development of zero-energy buildings (Xu, 2015; Yu, 2009). In
some developed countries, such as the United States, Japan, South
Korea, and Germany, a series of incentive policies such as financial
subsidies, loan concessions, and tax deductions and exemptions
have been introduced to promote the healthy development of
building energy efficiency (Wang and Xu, 2016; Li et al., 2017; Liu
et al., 2016; Wu and Ge, 2007; Ma, 2010; Wang and Zhou, 1993).
However, most of the government regulations in China are
mandatory and lack guiding policies to stimulate and encourage the
development of zero-energy buildings. Furthermore, the incentives
for zero-energy development are insufficient, which led to the
gradual loss of the market and competitiveness of zero-energy
buildings in China (Wang and Sun, 2011).
6. Conclusion
Zero-energy buildings increase energy efficiency and reduce the
energy demand of buildings and have become necessary for sus-
tainable energy development. In China, the development of zero-
energy buildings is still in the preliminary exploration stage, and
a series of problems exist, such as the lack of incentive policies,
immature technical systems, insufficient education, and lack of
promotion of zero-energy buildings. To promote the healthy and
stable development of zero-energy buildings in China, we propose
the following suggestions:
(1) Consider national conditions and occupants’ behaviors and
habits when developing standards and guidelines for zero-
energy buildings.
(2) Learn from the successful experiences and apply advanced
technologies used in developed countries to enhance the
technological-innovation capability of enterprises, promote
industrial upgrading, and ultimately form a standardized and
industrialized zero-energy building production system.
(3) Boost the impact of zero-energy buildings by increasing
public awareness of energy conservation and promoting new
energy-saving technologies and products.
(4) Expand the market scale of zero-energy buildings and in-
crease market competitiveness by formulating relevant
incentive policies and increasing financial subsidies.
(5) Provide theoretical and technical support for the develop-
ment of zero-energy buildings by increasing investment in
fundamental research on zero-energy buildings.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
This work is financially supported by School of Environmental
and Architecture, University of Shanghai for Science and Technol-
ogy under grant [1000307001].
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