Housing energy consumption accounts for nearly 40 percent of the
total energy use in this country.
Energy-saving housing, which consumes about half the heating and
electricity as ordinary housing, makes up only 5 percent of the
total 43 billion square metres of housing.
Of the 1.6 billion square metres of new housing built in China
each year, only 3 percent is energy-saving.
It is estimated that by 2020, some 30 billion square metres of
new housing will be built.
If all the houses can reach the energy-saving standard
stipulated by the State, 335 million tons of coal could be saved
annually as special materials for walls keep indoor temperature
higher by several degrees.
In the scorching summer, 80 million kilowatt hours of
electricity could be saved through air-conditioners in
energy-saving housing, which could keep the indoor temperature
lower by several degrees.
It is estimated that the amount of energy guzzled by housing
will soon surpass the amount consumed by the country's
manufacturing sector.
To maintain sustainable development, building of energy-saving
housing has become an urgent task.
The Ministry of Construction issued a notice on July 1 last
year, requiring all new urban housing to be designed in accordance
with energy-saving standards stipulated in relevant documents.
Nevertheless, it is only a requirement, which most housing
developers either ignore or defy.
It is not because developers do not agree with the notion of
energy-saving housing, but because they, as business people, put
profits above everything.
The cost of energy-saving housing is usually 10 percent higher
than that of ordinary housing. As a result, the prices for such
houses are more expensive.
Many who purchase houses do not take the time to estimate how
much money an energy-saving house would save in the long-run,
instead focusing on how much initial investment is needed to pay
for the dwelling.
This is the major reason why house buyers prefer ordinary houses
to energy-saving ones. Developers, of course, do not want houses
sitting idly without being purchased.
The government, as a helmsman overseeing the overall situation
of a country, must see far beyond the immediate interests of
developers and house buyers.
Sure, the prospect would be unthinkable if houses were built at
the will of developers whose only concern was to cater to buyers'
wishes for lower costs without having to consider energy saving.
Blackouts happen quite often in many cities in summer when families
use air-conditioners to keep cool.
Lack of coal has been an obsession with many cities in winter
when it is needed to fuel central heating systems.
The situation will certainly deteriorate if concrete efforts are
not in place to guarantee that all houses are built in an
energy-saving manner and the existing houses are renovated into
those that can save energy by a greater margin.
It is high time that the central government mapped out policies,
which may make it compulsory for developers to build no other
houses than energy-saving ones.
Specific rules must be in place to make sure that energy-saving
construction materials be used in house building while policies
should also allow developers to benefit in terms of taxes from
constructing energy-saving houses.
Preferential policies are also needed in terms of mortgage and
interest rate to encourage buyers to purchase energy-saving
houses.
(China Daily February 7, 2006)