Target Setting Outlook for New Residential Building Energy Efficiency Promotion in China: A Frontline Perspective Using Delphi

Abstract

Promoting energy efficiency (EE) requirements for new residential buildings has been proven to be an effective way to slow down the rapid increase of energy consumption. Its successful implementation relies significantly on the attitudes and participation of various stakeholders within the industry, yet they are normally taken for granted. This paper explores and reports both the consensus among and the diversity of the attitudes of frontline stakeholders toward future EE requirements in the new residential building sector via a nationwide Delphi questionnaire distributed to 29 institutes and 25 experts. Results indicate that promotion of approximately 30% EE every five years until 2030 is suggested and that 20% EE promotion every five years is the most likely to be achieved. In addition, China should progressively adopt the energy intensity index into the current building EE evaluation system. This paper also gives a detailed description of opinions from frontline stakeholders. The findings are expected to help researchers and policymakers better understand the true attitudes of stakeholders, thereby enabling the formation of a proper outlook for new residential building EE promotion.

Agile Delphi methodology: A case study on how technology impacts burnout syndrome in the post-pandemic era

“…However, it also has limitations. Li et al (34) identified several limitations of the method, one of which is that a Delphi study is time-consuming to complete because the process includes multiple iterations or rounds. Additionally, the Delphi technique is very sensitive to design characteristics and the clarity of the question formulation.…”