Research organisation BSRIA has released the latest global figures for air conditioning
Despite the global economic crisis the world market for air conditioning was up 13 per cent last year, according to a new report from research organisation BSRIA. Sales in 2011 were reported to be $88.2bn compared with $78bn in 2010.

Asia Pacific is still the largest market, its $48.2bn sales last year accounting for 55 per cent of the world market.

While the Americas and European regions were the worst affected by the economic crisis in 2009, America has started to recover slowly, with stronger growth witnessed in Brazil. Europe is struggling to recover from the Euro crisis, though sales of all splits were up in 2011. Chiller sales are down though there is an increasing air handling unit (AHU) market due to stricter air tightness requirements under the EU building regulations. This has led to an increased demand for ventilation and the need for small standardised air handling units. Sales of AHUs with heat recovery are also increasing.

Portables: A total of 1,896,229 portables were sold in 2011 (up 16 per cent on 2010), with a value figure of $530.6m.

Window/through the wall: Sales of these units were up 7 per cent, reaching 14,846,076 units, and US$3.3bn by value. The US remains the largest market with 70 per cent by volume and 58 per cent by value.

Splits: The total sales of splits reached 92,600,000 in 2011, valued at $64.6m. This is an increase of 14 per cent in value and 8 per cent by volume. Asia remains the largest market for splits and in 2011 sales increased by 7 per cent in volume and 15 per cent in value compared with 2010. Much of this was attributed to an increase in volumes of VRFs and Japanese ducted systems. In Europe sales of all splits increased by 20 per cent, mainly thanks to Russia which experienced abnormally hot weather in 2010.

VRF is most promising
The VRF market is the most promising, increasing by over 8 per cent CAGR over the forecast period. In most regions there is movement away from USA ducted splits towards Japanese style minisplits.

Single packaged: This market was estimated at 1,700,000 units and was valued at $ 4.7bn in 2011. The Americas is the biggest market, accounting for 87 per cent of global sales.

Rooftop: In Europe, the market for rooftop units in 2011 was 15,003 units, down 1 per cent compared with 2010 by volume. In terms of value the market was up by 4 per cent.

Chillers: This market increased by 18 per cent in value in 2011. Screw, scroll and reciprocating chillers account for the 92 per cent of the total market, though reciprocating chillers are very much in decline. Most are air cooled and 54 per cent by volume (11 per cent by value) under 100kW.

Chiller sales in Europe dropped 1 per cent in volume last year but increased in value by 9 per cent.

In the Americas, the chiller market increased by 9 per cent in volume in 2011 and is expected to show moderate growth in 2012.

Indoor packaged: Total sales of indoor packaged units amounted to 111,023 units with a value of $732.4m. This product is declining in many countries due to preference towards splits especially floor standing vertical splits.

In Europe, the indoor packaged market is very small with only 28,266 units sold in 2011 and with a drop of 1 per cent in volume and increase of 2 per cent by value. The market is continuously decreasing because of lower demand and competition from splits units, screw chillers and VRF.

Airside: In 2011, the airside market reached 6,700,000 units, up 8 per cent over 2010, and up 13 per cent in value terms, similar to the trends as seen in chiller markets.

AHU market value increased from 658,529 to 739,910 units. BSRIA sees a continuing trend towards customised units and the inclusion of heat recovery models, due to the drive towards energy efficient solutions.

The fan coils market increased by 8 per cent in volume compared to 2010. As with chillers, China holds the greater market share by volume of 22 per cent, and 9 per cent by value. Concealed fan coils remain the most popular with 74 per cent of the market.

The World Market for Air Conditioning study is available from BSRIA. Visit www.bsria.co.uk/wmi for further information.