Refrigeration ExpressNewsletter：Air conditioningAs it can provide a healthy and comfortable living environment for humans, it is increasingly valued in buildings. With the gradual increase in green building projects and the further upgrading of air-conditioning energy efficiency levels, air-conditioning products with strong energy-saving and environmental performance will maintain a new round of growth.

On October 1, 2013, the revised energy efficiency standard for inverter household air conditioners was officially implemented. The standard is the first in China to adopt the APF (Annual Energy Consumption Efficiency) index to evaluate the energy efficiency of air conditioners, which has received attention from air conditioner enterprises and the whole industry. The newly revised energy efficiency standard for inverter household air-conditioners has made changes to the energy efficiency levels, limit values and evaluation indicators of inverter air-conditioners. The standard takes into account both the cooling capacity of air conditioners and includes heating factors, making the assessment of air conditioner performance more scientific and comprehensive.

In 2012, the energy efficiency standard for fixed-speed air conditioners was significantly raised from 2.6 to 3.2, equivalent to a one-off elimination of more than 80% of products. The revised energy efficiency limit value for inverter air conditioners was also raised from the current 3.0 to 3.9, and the energy efficiency level changed from 5 to 3. At present, the energy efficiency standard forheat pumpwater heaters is still under consultation and is expected to be introduced in 2014.

Cheng Jianhong, a researcher at the China Institute of Standardization, said that APF standards will also be introduced into the energy efficiency standards for fixed-speed air conditioners, and APF indicators may also be introduced into the efficiency standards for unitary air conditioners and heat pump water heaters in the future. Therefore, how to better adapt to the upgrading of standards and cope with the rising demand for energy saving has become a key concern for enterprises at this stage.

In early 2013, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Construction issued the “Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Green Buildings in China”, which was actively embraced by local governments, who introduced policies or issued subsidies to help the development of local green buildings. Under the guidance of standards and policies, green buildings are developing rapidly. Data shows that in the first half of 2013, 978 green building projects were awarded nationwide, with a total of over 100 million square metres of green building area. Green projects started from 10 in 2008, to 20 in 2009, and now to more than 1,000, showing a spurt of growth in green buildings, both in terms of floor area and number of projects.

Air conditioningRefrigeration MarketExperts believe that in the green building evaluation criteria, air conditioning holds important points, especially high performance and high energy saving air conditioning, their contribution to green buildings cannot be underestimated. As a result, the consumption of energy by air conditioning products has become a key concern for companies, and energy-efficient air conditioning equipment will become the new darling of green buildings. The development targets set out in the Action Plan on Green Buildings show that China will complete 900 million square metres of new green buildings in the next two years, which will give energy-efficientEnvironmentally friendly air conditioningplugged into rapid development.