Greater awareness of how IAQ impacts office productivity is driving increased acceptance of energy recovery technology.
The market for energy recovery equipment, which is used to precondition incoming air, is set to grow significantly over the next five years.
An energy recovery ventilator (ERV) is a type of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment that uses the energy associated with the thermally conditioned air being exhausted from a building to precondition the incoming air.
ERVs, which offer many advantages for both improved indoor air quality (IAQ) and reduced energy consumption, are one of the fastest growing segments of improved IAQ management in buildings.
According to a recent report from Navigant Research, worldwide revenue from ERVs will grow from $1.6 billion in 2014 to $2.8 billion in 2020.
Navigant Research analyst Benjamin Freas said ERVs are growing in popularity because they provide energy saving benefits without sacrificing IAQ.
“Along with new standards and regulations, the heightened sensitivity to how the health and comfort of office workers affects productivity is driving increased acceptance of IAQ technologies in more buildings,” Freas added.
Other IAQ technologies that are experiencing strong growth, according to the report, include carbon dioxide sensors, demand-controlled ventilation, dedicated outdoor air systems, and ultraviolet irradiation to eliminate microbes.
Revenue for the overall IAQ market is projected to increase from $3.3 billion in 2014 to $5.6 billion in 2020, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 per cent over that period.
Another research report on the global air conditioning market was released by Sandler Research. Analysts forecast the global central air condition system market to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.18 per cent through to 2018.
The report divides the market into two sections. There is direct expansion central air conditioning systems and chilled water central air conditioning systems.
In direct expansion central air conditioning systems, air is cooled directly by the refrigerant and in the chilled water central air conditioning systems, chilled water or brine solution is used to cool the air.
An increase in the per capita income of people and a rise in the global temperature have led to the growing adoption of central air conditioning systems.
The report identifies the major players in the market including Daikin Industries, Gree Electric Appliances, Ingersoll-Rand, Midea, Lennox International, LG Electronics, Mitsubishi Electric, Nortek, Panasonic, Rheem Manufacturing, Samsung Electronics, Siemens, Toshiba, Voltas and Whirlpool.
Air Change general manager Shane Carmichael said Australia is at the centre of the growing ERV market.
He said a combination of factors are behind the emerging market.
“The combination of awareness around improved indoor air quality through the introduction of higher amounts of outside air and the need to condition it efficiently has led to a rapidly growing market for ERVs locally,” he said.
Air Change is actively involved in this segment of the market and boasts a highly efficient patented heat exchanger technology that can reduce outside air load by up to 75 per cent.
“We package these heat exchangers into a broad range of air conditioning systems to cater for all applications,” Carmichael explains.
“Our strength lies in our local engineering team that can provide customised and dedicated solutions.”
Carmichael said that primarily, ERVs are being used in applications that require higher amounts of outside air such as cinemas, lecture rooms and function centres.
“However we are also seeing many of the smaller in-ceiling type ERV systems being used in office retrofits, apartments and retail spaces,” he added.