The months ahead will be challenging ones for many projects in the HVAC industry. The pandemic has led to an increase in home working which can only be good for the residential market but on the commercial side these are likely to be days of turbulence. Projects that have been on hold could be slow to be released. Others are likely to go back to the drawing board where they will be completely reappraised and possibly value engineered, and, sadly, some will be cancelled. We do hope that after months of enforced study time new projects will come on stream that meet the needs of the new normal. 

One thing for certain is that the months ahead will be ones of recovery for the commercial market. So, it’s important that we show our commitment to our customers and be ready for growth when it comes next year. 

On the positive side there is a good amount of pent-up spending in the economy. This is mainly coiled up with consumers and the reason for this is that while some people have been made redundant or have been furloughed, many have worked from home and carried on as normal. 

With no holiday and travel to work costs to worry about – and with pubs and restaurants closed for a long time too – a lot of money has been saved. In many instances this will be released and with household domestic appliance sales already seeing an increase during lockdown, we will now begin to see a rise in consumer spending on going out. It will also be interesting to see how this filters into the new offerings from the retail and entertainment industry.  

What’s going to be critical to us as an industry is the reaction from the business and commercial customers. There’s much discussion about potential redundancies once the furlough system ends. Equally, there are a great number of businesses which will take advantage of this situation, making use of relatively cheap money by investing to grow.  

The High Street has been hard hit by the pandemic and there are big names that have gone. The game changer is what will happen with office space and how many businesses are going to maintain online working practices? To what extent will new and existing office space be needed on the same scale as it was before the pandemic? How much will smart working be cemented into the future of our working practices? Having said that, instability in the office market does lead to opportunity. If you are going to downsize you will need space and this leads to new openings for the HVAC industry. 

Energy saving has long been an industry goal but now its importance has never been higher if it’s to meet the Government’s expectations. But what we achieve in this area and how fast it happens will depend to some extent on how much financial help we get from the Government. The car industry is an example of how this can make a difference. Five years ago, there was only one serious electric car manufacturer but now there is plenty of choice if you are looking to buy an EV. 

The car industry benefited from Government incentives, and as an industry we have done so to some extent, but we need more to provide further impetus to the green revolution. If we can drive up the scale of producing low carbon products, and we can increase the number of qualified installers, then in turn the cost of these products and installations will come down and they will be more accessible to the normal market. 

No one wants a pay-back period longer than the time they intend to stay on the premises. This calculation works as well for the commercial market as it does for the domestic one. 

Without doubt, our industry will have to be a major contributor to the low carbon society – one that we will all have to live in. At Haier, heat pumps are included in the mix from small, residential split systems upwards. We have done so to ensure that our heating and cooling systems can be as efficient and kind to the planet as possible.  

We are proud of our innovation at Haier. We are a global, multi-billion pound company, so don’t be surprised at some more big announcements in the near future.

Change for some people can be daunting but for the right type of people it can be exciting and full of opportunities for success. One thing is for certain and that is that the new normal will demand new thinking if you want to be a winner in the future.