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AONI DE HAUS is the first certified ultra-low energy retrofit project of a traditional three-direction enclosed courtyard house built of wood and rammed earth wall with Passive House components. Its predecessor was a one hundred- year-old vernacular dwelling built in the late Qing Dynasty and abandoned for more than 20 years. Its primary main courtyard was renovated and technically enhanced to introduce the PHI renovation standard EnerPHit into Chinese traditional dwellings for the first time. Its secondary courtyard has been restored and modernized, but without aiming to reach the Passive House standard. Visitors can experience the wide comfort difference between the primary and the secondary courtyard and understand the contrast between old and new energy concept, traditional and modern in this house.

Remarkable about this project is the combination of traditional Chinese wood house architecture and modern German building technology: The main structure and design of the traditional house were preserved. With the use of modern windows, a ventilation system with heat recovery and air tightening products the thermal envelope was optimized.

This way of retrofit could serve as an example for further projects with old traditional houses in villages all over China. It shows how they could be given a new life – maintaining the traditional design but transforming them into comfortable places to live. With the implementation of the energy saving measures, the energy consumption compared to similar buildings has been reduced by 90%.

About the Energy Efficiency Award

The Energy Efficiency Award 2020 – East-China was organized by the German Industry & Commerce Greater China in Shanghai (AHK Greater China Shanghai) in September 2020.

In order to illustrate the successful implementation of German technologies, products, and services in construction projects in East China, five examples were awarded and presented to a broad public audience. The selected reference projects show innovative German energy efficiency technologies, e.g. in the field of isolation, heating, and heat recovery, as well as the use of planning, architecture, and engineering services from Germany. All projects are results of fruitful cooperation between German companies or institutions and their Chinese partners.

On September 16th, 2020, the awarded projects have been published with videos and presentations of the project representatives at a hybrid event in the office of the AHK Shanghai and broadcasted worldwide through the internet.

The Energy Efficiency Awards are part of the German Energy Solutions Initiative of the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy to recognise the positive impact German energy efficiency technologies have on China’s efforts to become more energy efficient.