In China's Icy North, Outfitting Buildings to Save Energy

Jin-Xing Ma's apartment has a new hat, and a five-layered coat. Standing in her living room, her trim frame ensconced in a purple sweater, Ma is effusive about her home's new wardrobe.

Here in the China’s northeast, where winter temperatures plummet to -40ºF (-42º C), cities are getting serious about giving old, drafty buildings a face-lift. Last year, Harbin (map) spent $1.1 million to retrofit 21 million square feet (2 million square meters) of residential buildings—adding five new layers of wall insulation, as well as better windows and roofing that tenants like Ma affectionately describe as the building's new "winter clothes."

“Before, the temperature in this room was 12 degrees [Celsius, or 53ºF]. Now it’s 18 degrees [Celsius, or 64ºF],” said Ma, 76, surveying the apartment with pleasure. For Ma, who runs a small Chinese medicine shop with her husband out of their front room, the change has meant fewer chilly days for both herself and her customers.

In China's Icy North, Outfitting Buildings to Save Energy