Gone are those days when air conditioners were termed a luxury and today it is evolving to be one among the basic needs, especially in cities and urban areas. All thanks to air conditioning in offices and cars, where a major part of one’s day is spent, we have become accustomed to the feeling of having a conditioned, comfortable and cool environment around us.

There are innumerable factors that have contributed to the increasing surge in demand for Air conditioning products. In general, the growing infrastructure based developments, technological advancements and increasing tourism are expected to positively influence the HVAC markets of India and GCC in the next few years.
Apart from that, increasing urbanization, elevated levels of pollutants in the air, higher disposable income and extreme climatic conditions (including rising humidity levels in tropics, especially) and heat waves are some of the key reasons why the HVAC industry has been receiving a big push. Also, today people are more willing to spend money on comfort solutions.

In India, the HVAC market is expected to cross $7 billion by 2022*. With more cities witnessing continuous growth across almost all the major industrial and commercial sectors, increasing construction activities in residential, retail and commercial sectors, metro rail projects coupled with various government initiatives aimed at improving energy efficiency, the HVAC market is expected to get a boost. Expansion of commercial space (multiplex, auditoriums, shopping malls), growing retail industry and exponential increase in office spaces and corporate hubs are driving the demand for HVAC installations across the world.

In GCC too, where ACs are more of a necessity than a luxury due to extreme climatic conditions, the sale of HVAC equipment is highly correlated to the construction activities in the key sectors of commercial, retail, hospitality and residential. Not to mention the construction projects aligned with Expo 2020 in Dubai and FIFA 2022, that will remain the major drivers.

GCC is also witnessing the growth of energy efficient HVAC systems, especially with the regulations put in place by countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia. It is estimated that the global market for energy efficient HVAC systems will be worth $ 33.2 billion annually by 2020, according to a recent report from Navigant Research. Currently worth $ 17.2 billion, the market is expected to grow by 94.2 per cent in the next seven years, with the Asia Pacific region predicted to take a majority share of global revenue.

Moreover, it is also predicted that with the advent of smart buildings, intended to enhance the comfort and living experiences in the Middle East, the demand for state-of-the-art HVAC systems will be significantly high and this in turn will boost the need for more energy efficient HVAC solutions. And it is expected that very soon, this will become a global trend.

In short, moving ahead, the future lies with smart buildings and environmentally sustainable HVAC systems across commercial, residential, hospitality and retail user segments that will aid in further driving the HVAC market.

Hence are the HVAC solution providers prepared yet?