Socrates Christidis, research manager at BSRIA.
The Asian and the Pacific regions remain the largest heating markets in the world, in volume terms, despite a decline in sales volume in 2018 by eight percent. Wall-hung, non-condensing boilers dominate but heat pumps are increasingly important, reaching 40% of the heating market in that region. China, by far the largest heating market in the region, has seen mixed performance in 2018 with domestic boilers recording a significant fall in sales.
In Europe, ErP legislation has ensured that condensing boilers dominate the marketplace. Turkey has just introduced a similar legislation making condensing technology mandatory. The trend away from floor-standing boilers towards wall-hung type continues and there was a six per cent swing in 2018, that is happening in both Western and Eastern Europe alike.
Europe has also recorded the dynamic growth of 13 per cent in the hydronic heat pump market, with France being a strong market leader in terms of the number of units sold and Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands and UK being the most important markets in terms of growth recorded.
Heating in North America continues to be dominated by furnaces, however wall-hung condensing boilers continue to make strong inroads to the residential market where they now account for 36 per cent. Condensing technology is also progressing strongly with condensing residential and commercial boilers reaching a 57 per cent share of the total boiler market.
BSRIA's investigation of North America's market shares reveals a dynamic change of the competitive landscape as big players keep moving into emerging or faster growing markets.
The recently published BSRIA World Market Intelligence studies on Heating monitor the global and regional heating markets and their dynamics in technology, sales volume and competitive environmen. The reports explain heating practices of the countries and look at the impact of policies and technology innovations that aim to reduce CO2 emissions and respond to the consumer expectations.
BSRIA reports include information on sales, with a high level of granularity in segmentation, on legislation, regulations and incentives, technology shifts, changes in energy prices and analyse how all these factors affect each country’s market. BSRIA also provides a five-year forecast for market sales.
While legislation plays an important role for both type of products, energy efficiency, comfort and connectivity are becoming increasingly potent influencers too.