LONDON — The global air conditioning market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.5 percent over the period of 2011 to 2015, according to a report from Companies & Markets. Having seen a temporary disruption in growth, primarily due to the recession, the global market for air conditioning systems staged a recovery in 2010 and is now projected to reach 144.3 million units in volume sales by 2017.

Companies & Markets said the key factors contributing to this growth include the increased need for energy-efficient air conditioners and the development of inverter-based air conditioners. Another major factor which is expected to steer the market in the next few years, is the rapidly growing replacement need, particularly in mature markets such as the United States and Europe. With the growing focus on energy conservation, the demand for replacing old air conditioning systems with new energy efficient models will be on the rise, adding to market gains.

There has been a rapid increase in competition among the air conditioner vendors in the last few years, stated Companies & Markets, and this has led to a decrease in the overall price of air conditioners. Consequently, there is an increase in price wars among the players in the market.