LONDON — Research firm Companies and Markets has released a study that estimates the global air conditioning market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18.5 percent through 2015.

Having witnessed a temporary disruption in growth, primarily due to the recent economic recession, the global market for air conditioning systems staged a remarkable recovery in the year 2010 and is now projected further to register 144.3 million units in volume sales by 2017.

Key factors contributing to growth within the industry 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 U.S. and Europe. Given the growing focus on energy conservation, the demand for replacing old air conditioning systems with new energy-efficient models will be on the rise, thereby adding to market gains.

There has been a rapid increase in competition among air conditioning vendors over the last few years. This increase in competition 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.

Asia-Pacific continues to be the largest regional market. Growth in the region is fueled by factors such as the rise in urban population, favorable job markets, and resulting high income levels, increased household gains and rising per capita incomes, particularly in countries such as China and India.

For more information on the global air conditioning market study, visit http://bit.ly/TawLJl.

Publication date: 10/29/2012