The Building Energy Research Center (BERC) of Tsinghua University was founded in 2005. The mission of BERC is to be devoted to the development of energy-efficient, low-carbon, and environmentally responsible buildings in China in accordance with national and international energy and environmental targets, including buildings research and innovation. The principal research activities within BERC include: assessment of the current buildings status in China and the provision of strategic; outlooks on buildings energy consumption and efficiency; occupant behavior and building simulation research; research and development (R&D) of innovative high-efficiency buildings technology and systems; energy efficiency application research on subsectors, including: space heating in Northern China; rural residential buildings; urban residential buildings; and public and commercial buildings.