European smart ac market to treble by 2023
EUROPE: The European market for smart air conditioning is forecast to almost treble to €130m by 2023, according to a new report.
At about €45m in 2018, the air conditioning sector is still relatively small compared to the €200m overall market for smart connected HVAC, according to the study published by UK market research company BSRIA.
While the larger heating sector is mainly driven by the residential market, the smart connected air conditioning market is mainly driven by the commercial buildings market, where the biggest single driver is business continuity and maintaining optimal physical environment.
“If you are running a hotel, or selling chilled food, or if you are responsible for a home or hospital for people who are ill or elderly – then any outage of air conditioning and cooling systems can have serious consequences, ranging from financial losses to risks to people’s health,” explained BSRIA analyst Henry Lawson.
“Malfunctioning air conditioning is also a chronic waster of energy, with even something as simple as a blocked filter increasing energy consumption by up to 30%. Energy used by air conditioning also has environmental implications – especially with rising temperatures. The last two years have seen a stalling in Europe’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and anything that can help is likely to be encouraged.
According to BSRIA, the majority of the increase is represented by service and maintenance. Chillers represent the largest sector of the market though there are also solutions for VRF and air handling units. Most of the largest air conditioning manufacturers either already offer a solution in Europe or are planning to introduce one. Major controls manufacturers also have offerings.
The biggest market is currently in Germany but there is demand across Europe.
Europe Smart Connected Air Conditioning in Commercial Buildings 2018 provides an overview of the current European Union (including the UK). It also looks at the five largest country markets: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK with a summary for the rest of the EU.
