Dilution effect of the building area on energy intensity in urban residential buildings

Jingxin Gao, Xiaoyang Zhong, Weiguang Cai (), Hong Ren, Tengfei Huo, Xia Wang and Zhifu Mi
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Jingxin Gao: Chongqing University
Xiaoyang Zhong: Leiden University, Einsteinweg
Weiguang Cai: Chongqing University
Hong Ren: Chongqing University
Tengfei Huo: Hebei University of Technology
Xia Wang: Southwestern University of Finance and Economics

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Urban residential buildings make large contributions to energy consumption. Energy consumption per square meter is most widely used to measure energy efficiency in urban residential buildings. This study aims to explore whether it is an appropriate indicator. An extended STIRPAT model was used based on the survey data from 867 households. Here we present that building area per household has a dilution effect on energy consumption per square meter. Neglecting this dilution effect leads to a significant overestimation of the effectiveness of building energy savings standards. Further analysis suggests that the peak of energy consumption per square meter in China’s urban residential buildings occurred in 2012 when accounting for the dilution effect, which is 11 years later than it would have occurred without considering the dilution effect. Overall, overlooking the dilution effect may lead to misleading judgments of crucial energy-saving policy tools, as well as the ongoing trend of residential energy consumption in China.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12852-9

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