LONDON — The global advanced HVAC control market is expected to reach close to $12.2 billion in revenue by 2020, according to the latest research study released by Technavio. The report provides an in-depth analysis of market growth in terms of revenue and emerging trends. It also includes an analysis of various market segments.

“The need for replacing aging infrastructure provides high opportunity to vendors to gain profitability through retrofits and replacements. The advanced HVAC control system market in North America and Europe will likely revive in the future with the rise in construction activities in these regions. Until then, the market will rely on retrofits, replacements, and incremental upgrades to existing facilities,” said Anju Ajaykumar, one of Technavio’s lead analysts.

“The need to reduce operating costs, increase energy efficiency, and favorable government incentives is creating a demand for replacing existing HVAC equipment in the U.S., UK, Germany, and Japan. In the U.S., steady economic development is also influencing the replacement demand for HVAC. Technavio analysts believe that 50 percent of growth in the HVAC market in the country will stem from the replacement demand for these systems,” added Ajaykumar.

The control market for sensors was valued at $3.29 billion in 2015. Sensors to measure temperature, humidity, occupancy, CO2, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are being increasingly used in advanced HVAC controls systems. Sensors create a medium for consumers to interact with the HVAC system, and this is the fastest growing segment in the control market. Temperature sensing and control are the most important sensor functions in advanced HVAC control systems. Thus, many companies are investing heavily in R&D to develop and enhance temperature sensor functionality.

The market for devices was valued at $2.53 billion in 2015. The emergence of smart home technologies is playing a crucial role in boosting the devices segment. Consumers are increasingly embracing devices such as smart thermostats to tap their potential for saving energy and ensuring comfort and convenience.

Equipping residential heating and cooling systems with smart systems also provides opportunities to HVAC service providers. Predictive maintenance and remote diagnostics help make maintenance activities more efficient and streamline repair.

The market for floor-level and building-level controllers was valued at $2.23 billion in 2015. Building-level controllers manage HVAC equipment directly — typically components such as air handling units or indirectly through networked downstream and lower-level controllers. Building-level controllers monitor operations of all downstream controllers, and collect and maintain data. These controllers can operate as standalone units during communication loss at the management level.

System controllers have peer-to-peer relationship with other controllers. The building-level controllers are connected through a campus network to the management level of HVAC control systems.

Floor-level controllers serve building floors, and specific areas, applications, and devices. Direct digital control (DDC) controllers, mechanical controllers, and application-specific controllers are the key types of floor-level controllers anticipated to experience significant growth over the next four years.

More information is available here.

Publication date: 3/31/2016

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