Article appeared in H&V News, December 2007
The ventilation, air conditioning, non-domestic heating market was valued at £1.35 billion in 2006 and is forecast to grow to £1.58 billion by 2010. Ventilation has seen modest growth of 2-3% over the past 3 years and represents around 15% of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry, according to a 2007 study, conducted by AMA Research.
There are a number of factors that have caused growth in this sector. The Kyoto Treaty on climate change, led to global and national targets for the reduction in CO2 emissions. The UK's introduction of Part L1B and Part L2A of the new Building Regulations has been an important legislative drive towards this conservation of natural resources and fossil fuels.
Where draughts, natural air supply and thermal loss have been reduced, higher levels of thermal insulation and better sealed buildings can also be associated with rising temperatures and poor air quality. This can lead to complaints about working conditions, as well as health issues, associated with dry, contaminated air.
The combination of these factors has led to increased use of natural ventilation (as well as solar shading) in many new construction and refurbishment projects, particularly in government buildings, schools, hospitals and health facilities, which may have seen a higher level of capital investment than in other areas.
Other market factors also come into play. The boom in the UK property market, has been a major factor behind growth in the DIY Multiples market and this sector reported growth from £3.6bn to £7.6bn between 1995 and 2005.
This has led to the need for larger premises to hold larger levels of stock and to accommodate larger numbers of shoppers. In order to do this, DIY chains have been developing larger warehouse format outlets, as well as planning refurbishments of existing stores, including new mezzanine floors. As a result the average store size of the multiples has increased since 1998, with the overall average estimated at around 3,900 square metres in 2003.
A trend towards retail warehouses has seen the emergence of high bay structures in supermarkets and superstores and large format warehouse outlets. These premises can also have a high level of automation and machinery needing to be kept within certain temperature ranges to operate efficiently.
The facilities that serve the pharmaceutical industry often need to be kept at much more exacting controlled temperatures in order to prevent the deterioration of stock.
The length of time that shoppers stay in stores is directly related to the amount which they spend and has direct bearing on revenues.
This development trend has also necessitated more fire engineered solutions, including automatic smoke ventilation, to protect means of escape and to minimize potential smoke damage to stock.
A combination of the need for noise reduction and for lower energy consumption has led to manufacturers developing solutions with very low noise levels and for the adoption of natural ventilation, or combined natural and mechanical ventilation systems - for example, passive stack systems with roof extractors.
These kind of systems are likely to become more and more in demand as the market develops.
These factors are behind the modest growth in the UK ventilation market and, with a forecast for growth in South East building up to Olympics in 2012, the market continues to evolve.
At Powrmatic, we have seen more growth in turnover in the past 12 months alone, than for many years. This all goes to show that change isn't necessarily a bad thing!