Abstract |
China is already the second largest energy consumer and emitter of the greenhouse gases (GHG) in the world after the United States, and its demand for energy is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the foreseeable future, due to its fast economic growth and its low level of energy use per capita. It is widely expected that China is likely to overtake the US in energy consumption and GHG emissions during the first half of the 21st century. Therefore, there is considerable interest in the international community in searching for options that may help China slow down its growth in energy consumption and GHG emissions through energy efficiency improvement and adopting more environmentally friendly fuel supplies such as renewable energy. This study examines the energy saving potential of three major residential energy end-uses: household refrigeration, air-conditioning, and water heating. |