Green Urban Development

By staff reporter VERENA MENZEL

AS a German proverb says，“Friendship ends with money.”Well， that can also be applied to other areas of society， for example， environmental protection.

Although green technology is becoming more and more sophisticated worldwide， it still usually is second to none in being expensive！ And when it comes to the wallets of companies and consumers， i.e. company profits， purchase prices， and tax burdens， the“friendship” with environmental protection often ends quickly.

In the case of China， the fact that the country is still predominantly dependent on products and know-how from the West in terms of green technology is making the situation more difficult. As for both products and know-how， foreign companies demand high prices， and justifiably so in view of the years of research and development investment which they have contributed to the cause.

This dilemma has also existed for a long time in Chinas booming residential construction sector. But it is precisely here that the beginnings of a green turnaround can be witnessed today， and international cooperation is one of the key factors driving this change.

This trend can be seen particularly clearly in the example of passive house technology.

For some years now， the German standard for the construction of energysaving buildings has continued to gain popularity and attention in China.

The success of passive house technologies illustrates how win-win cooperation between China and the West can be realized， and ultimately how it benefits everyone， not only companies and consumers， but all humans and the environment as well.

The Passive House— a German Model Finds Its Way to China

To better understand the setting of passive house technology， we traveled about 40 minutes by bus to the outskirts of Beijing. Here， far north of the city center， in a seemingly rural area， the first passive house settlement of the Chinese capital was completed in October 2017– the village is called New Shaling.

It was built with the help of German companies and experts using technology and techniques from Germany.

The former inhabitants of a nearby village， who had previously settled in an area threatened by landslides in the event of heavy rain， had moved into 36 two-storey houses.

“By implementing the project， we have not only successfully relocated the people from this danger zone， but also greatly reduced the energy consumption and consequently the annual fixed costs of the villagers，” says Zhang Xiaoling， senior engineer and director of the Beijing Kang-Ju Certification Center of the Center of Science and Technology& Industrialization Development， who carried out the project.

The worlds first passive house was built in 1991 in the German city of Darmstadt. So-called passive houses are， in reality， not as one might think， a new construction method， but rather a new standard that places special demands on the architecture， the technology used， and ecology-friendliness. Even old houses can be converted into passive houses through appropriate reconstruc- tion and renovation.

The special feature of these buildings is that the majority of the demand for heating is covered by “passive” energy sources such as solar radiation or radiated heat from people and technical equipment in the house.

The result is a positive room perception， coupled with extremely low energy consumption and thus low energy costs.

North-South Divide in Green Building Technology

New Shaling may be Beijings first passive house settlement， but passive houses are no longer a novelty in China， as Nicole Pillen， deputy head of the Division Energy-Efficient Buildings and director of the Department of International Cooperation at the German Energy Agency， explained to us.

Pillen has travelled to Beijing to participate in the 17th China International Exposition of Housing Industry & Products and Equipment of Building Industrialization （CIEHI） taking place from October 11 to 13， 2018.

She says， “Ten years ago， the Chinese side sought to cooperate with us for the first time， particularly in the area of highly efficient buildings， an area in which Germany has accumulated a lot of experience due to the course of the energy transition in the building sector over the last 20 years.”

“We then agreed to try out passive house technology by launching pilot projects in China and introducing an ambitious efficiency house standard. As a result， the successful examples have ultimately led to this technology becoming very widespread in China and the term ‘passive house was on everyones lips.”

In northern China， for example in the Beijing-Hebei region， the experience and technical solutions of Germany and Europe can be transferred virtually one-toone due to similar climatic conditions.

However， when applying the technology in other Chinese climate zones， such as southern China with its humid and hot summers， cooperation with experienced Chinese colleagues is required， says Pillen.

“Here we lack experience in the field of energy-efficient construction in Europe. German engineers can surely offer their help here， but the decisive impetus must come from the Chinese side in the end，” he added.

Nicole Pillen adds that the Chinese market is already so advanced that German companies based in China can take a piece of innovative power back home.

“By now， China has a large number of promising start-ups in the entire field of energy system transformation， showing what can be achieved in this area. There is a lot we Germans can learn here，” she says.

In this respect， too， according to Pillen there are many opportunities for Sino-German cooperation with perspectives that will extend into the years to come.

Last but not least， the Chinese government is also helping to promote green development in the country by setting an appropriate course.

The construction of the environmentally friendly passive house settlement on the outskirts of Beijing， for example， was supported by government subsidies.

In addition， Beijing has already given the green light to the construction of new passive house facilities with a total area of 500，000 square meters in the coming years， including office buildings and high-rise buildings as well as social housing， kindergartens， and schools.

There are also plans to continue upgrading existing buildings to the passive house standard.

Green urban development in China is therefore likely to gain further momentum in the coming years， and shall be made possible to some extent by German-Chinese cooperation.