2026 is a turning point for China's HVAC and energy-efficiency regulation. A cascade of national policies is pushing heat recovery from "nice to have" to "specified by default" — and that shift matters as much to foreign buyers as to domestic ones.
The Carbon-Peak backdrop
In July 2026 the State Council issued the 15th Five-Year Plan Carbon-Peak Action, defining 2026–2030 as the carbon-peak sprint. Targets: unit GDP CO2 emissions down 17% versus 2025 by 2030, and non-fossil energy at 25% of consumption. For the first time, the green transformation of heating and cooling systems is named as a priority task alongside grid and transport decarbonization.
Efficiency labels reach HVAC equipment
April 2026: the NDRC and the State Administration for Market Regulation expanded the mandatory Energy-Efficiency Label catalog to 37 product types, adding heat pumps, water chillers and VRF (multi-split) units. High-energy products are being pushed out of the market by regulation, not just price.
June 2026 brought GB/T 47620-2026, China's first national standard for testing the energy efficiency of central chiller-plant systems — moving the yardstick from single equipment to whole-system performance.
Industrial heat pumps and refrigeration in focus
The MIIT-led Energy-Saving Equipment High-Quality Development Plan (2026–2028) names industrial heat pumps and industrial refrigeration (heat) equipment as key categories. Goals: heat-pump product efficiency +10% versus 2025 by 2028, and new energy-saving industrial refrigeration (heat) equipment reaching 45% of new additions by 2028.
A "stock renewal" demand wave
2026 is being called the "golden age of stock renewal" for central air conditioning. Policy levers include equipment-renewal special treasury bonds and trade-in subsidies: tier-1 efficiency home central AC gets 15% off (up to ¥1,500), and public-building AC retrofits can be subsidized up to 20% of total investment.
Why this matters to foreign buyers
- Better products for export. Regulatory pressure lifts the baseline efficiency of what Chinese factories produce — including goods bound for overseas.
- Heat-recovery retrofits are a growth lane. Built-in heat recovery in AHUs, rotary wheels and plate cores are riding the efficiency wave.
- Low-GWP is accelerating. With the EU tightening F-gas rules (low-GWP refrigerants targeted at 60%+ by 2030) and China freezing HFC quotas, R290/HFO designs are moving mainstream.
- Data-center liquid cooling + heat recovery is exploding as PUE targets tighten below 1.3.
Importers specifying equipment for 2027–2030 should treat heat recovery and low-GWP as default requirements. Explore compliant air-to-air heat-recovery solutions from Zibo Qiyu, including drying heat-recovery systems.
Key takeaway
China's 2026 policy wave is effectively a multi-year purchase order for efficient, heat-recovering HVAC. Foreign buyers who align their specs with these trends will source products that are both compliant and future-proof.