ASHRAE Journal - July 2021 - 7

INDUSTRY NEWS
Top 10 Major Markets Growth (CAGR 2020 - 2025), by Volume
Focus on Low Carbon
with refurbishment projects as well as
small- to medium-size new build projects.
VRF was one of the few solutions
that continued to see growth.
The opportunities in the VRF market
encouraged traditional air-conditioning
product suppliers to merge
with VRF suppliers to offer a complete
product range to stay competitive in
the market. As a result, there have
been a number of global alliances and
acquisitions to ensure major companies
could present a full portfolio to
the market and take advantage of the
strengths of solutions combined with a
local sales network.
In North America, the partnership
between Carrier and Midea was
announced in September 2017 in the
residential ductless HVAC business. The
partnership allowed Carrier to penetrate
the growing ductless split market while
allowing Midea access to the distribution
channel. Another partnership was
formed in January 2018 between Trane
and Mitsubishi Electric for ductless
splits and VRF products in the U.S. and
selected Latin American countries.
The challenge for the VRF market is the
decreasing demand from the hospitality
and offi ce sectors. As a rule of thumb,
around one-third of VRF sales tend to
come from these sectors in major markets;
in the U.S. these two sectors comprised
34% of sales in 2020.
Another challenge is the global warming
potential (GWP) of the working
fl uid that is being used in VRF units.
R-410A has a GWP of 2,088 and is being
phased out in VRFs in Europe. It is being
replaced with R-32 refrigerant, which
has a GWP of 677. China, which accounts
for around 67% of the world's VRF market,
is also rapidly replacing R-410A
with R-32. The latest BSRIA world airconditioning
study showed just over 50%
of units sold used R-32, whereas in the
U.S., the sales of R-32 refrigerants in VRF
sales were negligible.
Although 2021 will be a challenging
year for the VRF market in the U.S.
because there will not be the doubledigit
growth rates seen in the past, the
market is nevertheless expected to see
good growth, bearing in mind the maturity
of the U.S. air-conditioning market.
Most markets are recovering from the
impact of COVID-19, with the VRF market
globally set to see 5.4% growth (CAGR
2020 - 2025). Expected CAGR growth for
the U.S. for 2020 - 2025 is around 8%.
For further details on the VRF market,
contact BSRIA or visit their website:
www.bsria.com
DOE Lays Out Plan to Cut
Buildings' Energy, Emissions
WASHINGTON, D.C.-In May, the
U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) announced actions
to cut buildings' energy
and emissions footprints,
including an initiative that
will focus on clean and effi
cient heating and cooling.
The program, called the
Initiative for Better Energy,
Emissions, and Equity
(E3), could advance the
research, development and
deployment of clean heating
and cooling systems
like heat pumps, advanced
water heaters, low-to-no
global warming potential
refrigerants and smarter
HVAC diagnostic tools.
Source: DOE
White House: How to
Modernize Buildings
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Biden
administration is investing
in new initiatives to improve
building energy effi ciency,
modernize American
buildings and be a net zero
economy by 2050. One
initiative is the U.S. Department
of Energy's grid-interactive
effi cient buildings
" road map " that includes
recommendations to integrate
buildings with solar
and wind power through
demand management and
storage. Download the
report: https://tinyurl.com/
xvsun2se Source: Smart
Cities Dive
J U LY 2 0 2 1 ashrae.org ASHRAE JOURNAL
7
https://tinyurl.com/xvsun2se https://tinyurl.com/xvsun2se http://www.bsria.com http://www.ashrae.org
ASHRAE Journal - July 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - July 2021
