(Photo by Wu Yibin)

China's first near-zero-energy consuming farmhouse, "Zero Cottage" at Beijing's Weishanzhuang town of Daxing District, was recently unveiled.

The farmhouse was recognized by the 2019 National Nearly Zero Energy Building Conference recently held in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan province. The conference was co-organized by the China Academy of Building Research, China Passive Building Alliance and Committee of Zero Energy Building under the Architectural Society of China.

A thermometer shows a room temperature of 22 degrees Celsius and an indoor humidity close to 50 percent in the building. (Photo by Wu Yibin)

Without any heating equipment, the 400-square-meter building can secure a room temperature of 22 degrees Celsius and an indoor humidity close to 50 percent even when the outside air temperature is zero degrees Celsius. This is attributed to the use of solar energy and the renovation of its roof and walls.

14 thin-film photovoltaics were installed on the roof of a well-lit room between the gate and living room, ensuring great natural lighting and electricity generation, said Chen Kexin, a staff member of Tenio Tianjin Architecture and Engineering Co., Ltd., the designer and builder of the farmhouse.

Together with the photovoltaic panels, the solar roof tiles produced by Chinese solar energy giant Hanergy, which cover 96.4 square meters of the farmhouse's roof, can generate electricity for all electrical equipment in the building.

What's more, an insulating layer with a thickness of at least 50 centimeters was used for the roof, walls and ground of the building. It is like a warm cotton quilt, meaning the heat inside cannot easily escape.