Proportion Of New Build/Retrofit Projects Speaks Volumes For HVAC Opportunities

Posted by Heidi Schwartz

While the total construction market in the U.S. has grown at a modest CAGR of 2.4% from 2012 to 2014, IHS found in its recent report titled the World Market for HVAC Equipment that 65.2% of total HVAC units sold into non-residential buildings were retrofit sales. Due to the large install base of equipment in the U.S. following the 2009 economic collapse, IHS was not entirely surprised by the high retrofit rate of HVAC systems, nevertheless, it was interesting to see the broad variations that can occur among end-users within the same country.

For example, using building stock and construction statistics, IHS found that 79% of air handling units (AHUs) sold into the education market in the U.S. went to retrofit projects, which equates to roughly 12,000 schools replacing one AHU. In comparison, only 58% of AHUs sold in the industrial market went into similar retrofit projects, which equates to 10,000 industrial building making one AHU replacement. This shows that while industrial buildings have rebounded, in both new construction and retrofit spending, budgets for buildings in the education vertical market have been more geared to maintaining existing structures.

Understanding the differences in the retrofit and new build markets has been extremely important for manufacturers over the past five years, as economic progress has been slower than expected. As the U.S. continues its recovery and budgets are refreshed, tracking the retrofit and new build markets will remain an important metric for growth opportunity, especially as energy efficiency recommendations continue to evolve.

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