China – Guangzhou
Organisation : Guangzhou Yuexiu Huacheng Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. China Academy of Building Research
Basic Information & Building History:
Building 6# of Plot AB0805104 Project on Guanglong Road, Baiyun District is located in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, jointly declared by Guangzhou Yuexiu Huacheng Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. and China Academy of Building Research. The building serves as a public supporting facility (gym) for a residential community while serving as a demonstration and exhibition facility for green and low-carbon projects. Construction completion and acceptance were achieved in June 2024, with official stable operations commencing in December 2024. Operational performance evaluation data were selected from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. The total gross floor area (GFA) is 240.7 m², with a conditioned area of 240.7 m². The building features a single-story frame structure (1 floor above ground, 0 basement levels) with a shape coefficient of 0.57.
Occupancy & Operating Schedule:
The building currently operates in a stable state, serving neighboring residents and visitors.
Operating Schedule: The fitness venue operates year-round following commercial shopping mall schedules.
Load Profiles & Schedule: Lighting and plug loads remain steady throughout the year. The HVAC system adjusts seasonally, with peak cooling demands occurring during the summer from June to October; operating hours were lengthened in March due to exhibition and project experimental activities. An LED display screen installed in the lobby (accounting for 20.9% of total electricity consumption) is used for demonstration and real-time visualization of building energy use and carbon emissions.
Climate Zone & Layout:
According to China's architectural climate zoning, the project is located in the hot-summer and warm-winter climate zone, equivalent to a Subtropical climate zone. The building adopts a due-south orientation and a compact, regular floor plan, grouping auxiliary spaces such as stairwells and restrooms on the west and north sides, while the main fitness and display areas occupy the east and south sides. Combined with high side windows and operable curtain wall sashes, 100% of the main functional rooms meet natural ventilation requirements (air change rate times/h) and good natural daylighting.
Incremental Cost & Unit Cost:
The unit building cost is 6,208 RMB/m² (compared to the baseline building cost of 2,917 RMB/m²). Incremental capital investments were precisely targeted at high-performance envelope insulation, thermochromic/photovoltaic glazing, PV multi-split systems, heat recovery fresh air units, and intelligent monitoring platforms, achieving a 32% building energy-saving rate.
The main actions implemented to reduce the energy consumption of this building.
Building Envelope, Insulation & Shading:
Roof & Exterior Wall Insulation Upgrades: The roof adopts 60 mm extruded polystyrene (XPS) boards combined with a 600 mm lightweight grass-clay insulation layer, lowering the heat transfer coefficient (K-value) to 0.34 W/(m²·K). Exterior walls incorporate light-colored reflective insulation coatings paired with 30 mm rock wool boards (K-value = 0.56 W/(m²·K)), alongside a demonstration application of 2 mm aerogel batch-coating insulation on the 1F north restroom wall (K-value = 0.81 W/(m²·K)).
High-Performance Glazing & Smart Shading Systems: West-facing windows utilize thermochromic Low-E insulated glazing (K-value = 1.58 W/(m²·K)) that operates passively without external power; it automatically turns translucent/misted when outdoor temperatures exceed 35°C, reducing the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) below 0.15. A 3,000 mm deep concrete roof overhang above the entrance lobby provides fixed horizontal shading, supplemented by combined horizontal and vertical framing shading on the east facade.
High-Efficiency HVAC & Heat Recovery Equipment:
PV Direct-Drive Inverter VRF Air Conditioning: Uses Grade 1 energy-efficient photovoltaic direct-drive inverter VRF units (25.2 kW capacity unit with APF 5.0; 33.5 kW capacity unit with APF 4.6), exceeding the national NZEB requirement of APF ≥ 4.5.
Total Heat Recovery Ventilation Units: Deploys ceiling-mounted total heat recovery fresh air units (fresh air volume of 1,000 m³/h) achieving a comprehensive heat recovery efficiency of 75% for both sensible and latent heat, significantly reducing fresh air thermal loads.
High-Efficiency Lighting & Electrical System:
100% LED Lighting & Smart Controls: Employs high-efficiency LED fixtures throughout indoor spaces integrated with intelligent lighting control systems. Lighting Power Density (LPD) across functional zones is reduced by 28.6%–43.7% below national code limits (5.36 W/m² in the fitness hall and 1.69 W/m² in restrooms).
Daylighting Maximization & Transparent Facades: Transparent curtain walls with visible light transmittance ≥ 40% and high side windows allow 100% of main functional areas to achieve compliant daylighting for at least 4 hours per day.
Renewable Energy & Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV):
Rooftop Monocrystalline Silicon PV: Deploys high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon PV modules (20% cell efficiency) on the rooftop of Building 6# (totaling 18 modules) with a total capacity of 11.16 kWp, generating a measured 14.63 MWh annually.
East Facade Perovskite BIPV Curtain Wall: Installs 116.63 m² of perovskite BIPV curtain wall glazing (17% module efficiency, 9.91 kWp installed capacity), combining solar shading (SHGC 0.28, shading coefficient 0.21), thermal insulation (K-value = 1.28 W/(m²·K)), and power generation (1.96 MWh annual output). Total annual renewable generation (16.59 MWh/a) reaches 82.6% of total building electricity consumption (20.09 MWh/a).
Energy Management & Carbon Emission Display Platform:
Sub-metering & Real-Time Monitoring: The platform conducts real-time sub-metering and monitoring across all electrical loads, including PV power generation (6# rooftop, 7# electrical room rooftop, and east BIPV curtain wall), HVAC systems, lighting, power sockets, and the lobby LED display screen.
Real-Time Carbon Tracking & Visualization: Integrates real-time building energy consumption data with renewable generation data to compute and dynamically display carbon emission metrics. Pushing energy and carbon analytics to the lobby LED display assists facility operators with data-driven decarbonization management while encouraging green energy awareness among visitors and occupants.
Building Automation (BAS) & HVAC Optimization:
Building Automation System (BAS): Integrates a centralized BAS to monitor, schedule, and automate critical equipment (VRF AC and fresh air units), ensuring systems consistently operate within peak efficiency zones.
Seasonal & Load-Responsive Control: The HVAC system adjusts dynamically based on the hot-summer and warm-winter climate conditions. During the high-cooling season (June–October), the system delivers optimized refrigeration, while operating schedules are flexibly tailored during shoulder seasons and special exhibition events (e.g., extended March trial operations) to balance thermal comfort with energy minimization.
Intelligent Lighting & Remote Control System:
Zoned & Scheduled Remote Control: Deploys an intelligent lighting control system enabling remote centralized control and scheduled operations for high-efficiency LED fixtures. Lighting output is dynamically adjusted or automatically shut off during non-occupancy hours based on natural daylight levels across various functional spaces (fitness hall, lobby, restrooms, stairwells).
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Sensing System:
Multi-Parameter Environmental Sensing: High-precision air quality sensors are installed at the ceiling of the west entrance lobby for continuous 24/7 monitoring of PM2.5, PM10, CO₂, formaldehyde (HCHO), TVOC, temperature, and humidity.
Demand-Controlled Fresh Air Ventilation: Real-time IAQ data feeds directly into the environmental management system, dynamically adjusting the ceiling-mounted total heat recovery ventilation units (75% thermal recovery efficiency) to maintain indoor PM2.5 (≤25 μg/m³) and CO₂ concentrations (≤0.037%) well below national standard thresholds.
Digital Maintenance & Performance Verification:
Continuous Operational Analytics: Establishes a data-driven maintenance and performance evaluation framework using year-round continuous monitoring data. Regular comparisons of photovoltaic power generation efficiency, sub-item energy consumption drift, and equipment operational status enable early detection of system anomalies (e.g., identifying PV curtain wall generation drops caused by surrounding tree shading for targeted operational maintenance).
Tenant/Visitor Engagement & Carbon Visualization:
Real-Time Carbon Visualization via LED Display: An LED display screen in the entrance lobby visually streams building PV generation, sub-metered power consumption, and real-time carbon emission metrics to residents and visitors, functioning as an interactive low-carbon education and display platform.
Showcase Demonstration & Behavioral Nudging: Serving as both an R&D Base exhibition center and a community public facility, it leverages live demonstrations of zero-energy building performance to raise environmental awareness and encourage green, low-carbon behaviors among visitors and occupants.
Operational Governance & Maintenance Practices:
Data-Driven Maintenance & Monitoring: Utilizing whole year of continuous operational monitoring data, a routine maintenance protocol is established for periodic cleaning and inspection of PV modules (e.g., implementing targeted clearing and shading management for the east BIPV curtain wall after identifying generation drops caused by surrounding tree shading) to ensure long-term high-efficiency and stable operation.
Zoned Automation & Power-Down Management: Integrated intelligent lighting controls manage functional zones (fitness hall, lobby, restrooms, stairwells) by maximizing natural daylighting (100% of main functional areas achieve hours/day of daylighting), while automatically switching off lighting and plug loads during non-operational periods.
