Improving Building Envelope Efficiency Lowers Costs and Emissions from Rural Residential Heating in China

In 2017, the Chinese government launched a clean heating campaign that replaced millions of rural coal stoves with various clean heaters. The clean heating program contributed to remarkable improvements in air quality. However, the benefits of reducing heating demand by improving building envelope efficiency were not sufficiently considered. This study provides a needed quantitative assessment of potential energy-savings, costs, greenhouse gas emission reductions, and adoption strategies for improving building envelope efficiency in Chinese rural residential buildings. We find that different strategies must be employed in existing and new buildings to achieve desired outcomes. For existing buildings, to encourage easy and beneficial building retrofits (e.g., air sealing, efficient windows), current fuel subsidies reduce the size and hence capital costs of new clean heaters. They can backsliding to coal. For new construction, whole-home insulation and technologies have high upfront costs but decrease heating costs and Hence, subsidies and policies that encourage improvements in building are critical.