Web-Based Control Enables Optimization and Savings
The commercial Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) control systems market has performed reasonably well in the midst of the economic downturn. Although business has suffered in 2008 and 2009, the market outlook appears to be promising. ARC's report includes the intelligent control portion of HVAC systems, and excludes non intelligent equipment such as chillers, fans, and sensors.
The adoption of Internet communication standards and Web Services in the HVAC controls market is further extending the concept of smart buildings by focusing on the intelligent analysis of building data. In sharp contrast to traditional HVAC solutions, user demands for HVAC solutions now include providing facilities managers the tools to perform the same sophisticated business intelligence analysis typically reserved for enterprise applications.
The goal is to provide facilities managers the ability to base operational decisions on real-time performance data and uncover hidden costs, and opportunities to save money, through comprehensive facilities management.
Heating and cooling energy costs represent a major part of most commercial buildings' operating cost. Energy optimization, lower environmental impact, and improved employee productivity all add up to a lower total cost of ownership and a better bottom line. Systems that are geared towards lowering the total cost of ownership over the entire lifecycle of the building and have the ability to tie this information to the enterprise level will experience the strongest growth throughout the forecast period.
Increase in Retrofits
As much as 75 percent of the opportunities in the HVAC controls market come from existing buildings that need to be updated or retrofitted. This trend will accelerate in the next few years as government-funded stimulus money is used to increase the energy efficiency of existing buildings and the growing concerns in the US commercial real estate market may lead to a decrease in new building construction and an increase of owners of existing buildings who make retrofit investments to qualify for LEED points.
By providing a non-invasive, less costly, and less time-consuming solution, suppliers will be able to leverage the boom in the retrofit sector of the HVAC controls market.
