The Energy Efficiency Post-COVID-19 in China’s Office Buildings

Carlos C. Duarte and Nuno D. Cortiços
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Carlos C. Duarte: Building Science, Technology and Sustainability Lab, CIAUD—Research Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Design, Lisbon School of Architecture, University of Lisbon, Sá Nogueira Street, University Campus, Alto da Ajuda, 1349-063 Lisbon, Portugal
Nuno D. Cortiços: Building Science, Technology and Sustainability Lab, CIAUD—Research Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Design, Lisbon School of Architecture, University of Lisbon, Sá Nogueira Street, University Campus, Alto da Ajuda, 1349-063 Lisbon, Portugal

Clean Technol., 2022, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-60

Abstract: China promptly took the leading step to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, producing the first scientific guidelines assuming health above energy consumption and significantly changing HVAC/AHU operation. The research intended to fulfill the gap by measuring the impact of the guidelines on energy use intensity, CO 2 emissions, and energy operation costs related to workplaces. The guidelines are long-term sector and industry trends following occupants’ health and safety concerns, and today they are applied to nursing homes. The research extended the study to post-COVID-19 scenarios by crossing those settings with published reports on telework predictions. The methodology resorts to Building Energy Simulation software to assess the Chinese standard large office building on 8 climate zones and 17 subzones between pre- and post-COVID-19 scenarios under those guidelines. The outcomes suggest an upward trend in energy use intensity (11.70–12.46%), CO 2 emissions (11.13–11.76%), and costs (9.37–9.89%) for buildings located in “warm/mixed” to “subarctic” climates, especially in colder regions with high heating demands. On the other hand, the figures for “very hot” to “hot/warm” climates lower the energy use intensity (14.76–15.47%), CO 2 emissions (9%), and costs (9.64–9.77%).

Keywords: COVID-19; guidelines; China; office buildings; energy consumption; CO 2 emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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