Moreover, while air conditioning is overwhelmingly ruled by foreign giants, in ventilation there is a powerful manufacturing base, dominated by UK-owned companies with 30% of production being exported.
Andrew Giles, head of BSRIA’s Worldwide Market Intelligence Division says: “This study is easily the most comprehensive ever in 23 years of research on UK ventilation. It reveals a robust market worth £300 million in 1999 and growing, with few of the major price pressures of the air conditioning market.”
But the question remains, are electrical contractors getting their share? Research reveals that heating and ventilation installers have 61% of the market, and electrical contractors a meagre 33% (see figure 1). They should clearly be pushing for more.
The sector is dominated by domestic powered unit ventilators which are predominantly axial (see figure 2 next page for market size). Here the report predicts growth in the replacement market as products installed following the 1991 Building Regulations have to be replaced. This type of unit is also expected to increase its market share against deodorisers in bathrooms.
However, passive ventilation (including trickle ventilation, passive stack, air bricks etc) is worth around £13 million and is growing strongly. This may damage the powered unit ventilation market especially in the new build sector.
Meanwhile, in the commercial sector the market may be boosted by changes in legislation to Part L of the Building Regulations which may encourage growth of ventilation rather than air conditioning and new air quality requirements in pubs and clubs.
Domestic heat recovery is expected to increase at up to 6% per year, particularly for self-build and environmentally friendly dwellings. The diverse commercial market, valued at over £5 million is emerging, covering heat reclaim units, paper recuparator units and smaller central and single room units.
The report segregates professional kitchen ventilation as a totally separate market valued at over £25 million with three completely distinct product areas: top premium canopies; standard canopies and ventilated ceiling. By material the new standard (DW 171) recently published by the HVCA will result in stainless-steel canopies increasing their share.
Both the smoke control and industrial ventilation products markets are dominated by powered smoke and roof units respectively. Designers appear to have rediscovered natural smoke systems, but powered smoke ventilation will be the long-term winner due to the preference of end users to have oversized fans that will allow smoke extract when necessary, and also because designers are more familiar with these products. Furthermore, says the report, increased activity in brownfield sites will not favour natural smoke. In contrast, natural non-smoke is the faster growing sector for industrial ventilation.
When it comes to large fans, the markets are dominated by axial cased and centrifugal products. For the latter, forward curved holds the lion’s share of the market with growth from mixed flow, propeller and plate mounted.
Electrical contractors can make in-roads into the fans and ventilation installation market without major investment in retraining and new technologies.
Any one of the markets mentioned in the BSRIA report is ripe for new and already established players to exploit, with the domestic and light commercial sectors being especially enticing. Get into fans and grow your market share and profit margins.
Lost in Space
A multiple extractor unit, of space-age appearance has been launched by Vortice. The VMC Ariant Central Extract system can be installed in a loft, ceiling void, cupboard or utility room to provide continuous trickle ventilation through ducting for three rooms, with the option to extend to five if required. To ensure continuous controlled extraction and to provide a fresh, healthy environment, the VMC Ariant system has two speed control settings. The company says this allows operation to be occasionally boosted whenever demand requires, thereby helping to protect the dwelling from the effects of damp and condensation. As an alternative to the conventional method of using individual power extractors mounted in either wall or window, VMC offers highly efficient ventilation with the benefits of improved aesthetics using neat ceiling grilles, one outlet point, lower initial outlay, easy and economic installation plus simpler centralised system balancing. VMC is manufactured in VO self-extinguishing resin for safety and incorporates a long-life motor, fitted on ball-bearings for guaranteed reliability over an estimated 30 000 hours. The unit’s auto-balanced turbine, coupled with the sound proof materials used, make for ultra-quiet continuous fan operation at normal trickle ventilation speed. Vortice claims that the system’s installation is extremely simple, using brackets and clamps or even by suspending the unit with nylon cable to further reduce the possibility of vibration noise.Source
Electrical and Mechanical Contractor
