According to the BSRIA market intelligence study, the global HVAC market showed recovery in 2017 with year-end sales expected to reach 137 million units at a value of just over USD102-billion. The variable refrigerant flow (VRF) market in particular is booming.
According to a summary on www.coolingpost.com, the BSRIA market intelligence study shows that while the global market saw an overall drop in sales in 2016, primarily due to the impact of the slowdown in China, the recovery in 2017 was better than previously forecasted. This was mainly due to a boost in the Chinese market caused by a hot summer and a focus on upgrading of AC units with intelligent solutions such as Wi-Fi.
BSRIA sees the market becoming very competitive. The downturn in sales in China in recent years has meant that the Chinese suppliers have increasingly been looking for overseas opportunities to ‘shift their stock’
With the Chinese market picking up, the large markets, such as the US, are growing well above the global average. The US market has been boosted by hot summers, a positive economy and construction activities. However, the European markets continue to be in recovery and will be challenged by political and legislative issues in 2018, according to the BSRIA study.
The Asia Pacific region continues to account for the largest share with 58% of global value. Europe is relatively small as a sales region, accounting for 7% by volume and 11% by value globally and is only slowly recovering.
BSRIA has seen some recovery in the Japanese market, and a very hot spell was a significant boost to the South Korean market.
Improved figures for the Australian market was the result of additional construction activities but BSRIA expects the growth to drop from 2018 and a decline in 2019 for residential products.
“Looking at the top 10 AC countries in the world, there has not been much change at the top in terms of ranking. China continues to dominate, followed by the US in second place and then Japan,” reveals David Garwood, market intelligence analyst, BSRIA Worldwide Market Intelligence.
Packaged products account for 85% by value.
VRF
VRF sales continue to do well, reaching just under two million outdoor units in 2017, an increase of more than 25% from 2016. Overall, BSRIA expects double digit growth to continue over the next few years, apart from in Europe which is now seen as a fairly mature market. BSRIA is seeing a trend towards more mini VRF as well as some water-cooled VRF going into high end residential applications. However, the capital costs of water-cooled VRF is still viewed as very high.
China continues to dominate the global VRF market accounting for 65% of volume sales, with units popular in both the residential and commercial markets. In particular, mini VRF is expected to continue to see a positive growth rate in China as the middle classes seek to replace conventional splits with mini VRF units.
