The construction boom in China goes hand in hand with growing requirements on energy efficiency, sustainability and comfort. These are challenges to which the construction industry must respond. The focus is on energy-related issues of buildings and districts, the development of efficient energy-supply concepts, on measures to minimize the use of energy, preferably by including renewable energy. Buildings can become mini power plants, urban districts can become self-sufficient energy providers and feed residual surplus energy into the electric grid - these scenarios are already within the realms of possibility.
At the same time, these achievements must be accompanied by developing and implementing criteria for user-friendly indoor environments. On the one hand, the relation between climate impact and perceived levels of thermal comfort has to be addressed. On the other hand, the focus is on how to provide optimum indoor climate conditions with minimal use of resources.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP provides solutions for these challenges.