Pictures of the Future        Fall 2008

Efficient Dragon

Summer 2020. Efficiency planner Fun Jie Fan is showing his friend and mentor Tan Xiao his latest successfully completed project—the modernization and efficiency optimization of a neighborhood in which Tan Xiao lived for many years before moving to Beijing.

Fun Jie Fan explains to his friend Tan Xiao the sophisticated efficiency features of a high-     rise in the neighborhood that he helped modernize. Now that the project has been completed, residents are not only purifying their own wastewater but also need to buy 90 % less drinking water. The use of distributed power systems has also lowered their dependence on externally-produced energy to practically zero.

Fun Jie, I’m thrilled—it’s exactly as you described it on the phone," says Tan Xiao, who clearly cannot believe what his friend Fun Jie Fan, a famous efficiency planner in China, has done with the smallest neighborhood of this huge metropolis in northern China. "This neighborhood is really thriving and beautiful now," Tan remarks. "There’s no noise, no smog, you’ve got a light rail system instead of all those cars, and there are parks where streets used to be. I can hardly recognize it any more." Fun Jie grins sheepishly. "I’m pleased to hear those words from you, my friend," he says. "Another thing that makes me proud is that the government has acknowledged the success of our pilot project by awarding us new contracts for the gradual modernization of the rest of the city."

"A city of 12 million consisting of… Fun Jie, please excuse me, but I’m an old man and I forget things quickly," Tan says. Fun Jie laughs. "You mean energy-self-sufficient buildings—like the one we’re standing in front of now."

The two men look up at the skyscraper above them. "The government issued strict guidelines," Fun Jie explains. All the energy used by every building has to come from renewable sources, and each building also has to purify its own water and reduce its need to buy drinking water from external sources by at least 90 %. The government also wanted the neighborhood to have a better quality of life."

"But I know this building from back when I used to work in the area," says Tan. "It looks the same—only the glass facade is darker." "That’s because of the solar foils mounted on the front of the glass," Fun Jie explains. "The foils not only produce electricity but also cool the building by shading it from the sun. But you’re right—you can’t see most of the technology we use because it does its work inside the building. For example, we’ve got an anaerobic biogas plant that transforms organic waste into combustible gas that’s used to fire the cogeneration units we installed in the offices and apartments, which in turn generate electricity and heat."

While Fun Jie continues his explanation, Tan makes a discovery as he looks at the upper floors of the skyscraper. "Am I seeing things?" he says. "Every other floor is missing on the top stories of the building."

"Oh, sorry," says Fun Jie, "I almost forgot that. We gutted some of the floors at the top, left the elevator shafts in place, statically stabilized the free-standing floors, and installed flat-lying windmills that optimally harness the wind up there to produce electricity. In this sense, the building is also a power plant that not only meets its own energy needs but also transfers power to the local grid. For example, if a building like this needs more electricity during peak hours than it can produce, it simply obtains the energy from the surplus in other buildings. This system actually reduces the neighborhood’s need for externally-produced energy to more or less zero. We also installed special meters on each floor. Anybody who’s interested can simply push a button on one of these meters and see not only how much electricity has been consumed but also how much has been transferred—and sold—to the grid. This motivates the building’s occupants to reduce their energy consumption. The city government is even thinking about running a competition for a prize for the most efficient building."

Tan looks a little confused. "But what about in the summer, when the air conditioning is running in all of these buildings all day? Is the energy they produce themselves enough to cover demand?" he asks.

"We came up with solutions for that issue as well," Fun Jie replies. "For example, the windows don’t open, which means no hot air from outside can get into the building. Instead, outside air is channeled through ducts into the basement, where it cools off before being fed into the ventilation system. We’ve also got small sensors that create a balanced climate by adjusting temperature, light, and fresh air levels precisely to predefined values. For lighting, we use both efficient LEDs and OLEDs, which are flat, luminous, flexible plastics that can illuminate entire walls inside a building. So, as you can see, despite all the conservation measures we’ve taken, no sacrifices were made in terms of comfort or convenience. Our automatic fresh air intake system makes for an ideal climate, and this has led to greater productivity among office workers. The effect is further enhanced by air flows that were optimized using  simulations. To ensure that the air in the building remains either warm or cool for the longest possible time—depending on the season, of course—all the floors were fitted with a combination of a double-layered facade and vacuum windows. In the winter, we also use special heat accumulators installed in the ceilings. These absorb heat during the day and emit it again at night."

"And how have you reduced the residents’ need to buy drinking water from outside?" Tan asks. "Oh, that’s simple," says Fun Jie. "We utilize proven membrane technology that we’ve been employing for years. This technology is now so versatile that we can desalinate and purify water from the nearby sea without using much energy at all. We no longer use steam here but instead desalinate the water with the help of the membranes." Tan makes a face. "So that’s why I had that stale taste in my mouth after I had a drink of water." "What do you mean?" Fun Jie says with a look of surprise. "Fun Jie, you haven’t changed a bit," Tan laughs. "Even after all these years, it’s still so easy to pull your leg. By the way, all this technology talk has made me hungry—let’s go get something to eat. Hey, I see someone selling food from a grill over there—fired up with good old charcoal. He must be the only one left in the neighborhood who’s still producing greenhouse gases."
                                                                                                           Sebastian Webel