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HVAC Industry Trends You Need to Know
1. The HVAC industry is getting bigger and faster
An AHR Expo and ASHRAE Journal survey found nearly 88 % of respondents in the HVAC industry reported a “good” or “excellent” business year in 2019, and 43 % of those respondents expected 5-10% growth for their business. Another 23.5 % expected growth to exceed 10 %. This is a slight dip from the previous year's survey, but still a remarkably positive assessment of how current HVAC businesses are doing.
2. More people are working in HVAC
The recent employment numbers for the HVAC industry are breaking the record. In 2018, 1.2 million people in the U.S. were employed by HVAC companies, a more than 5 % increase over 2017. The HVAC industry outlook also predicts 13 % growth through 2028, which clearly speaks to the overall health of the industry.
More people and money in any industry can be a double-edged sword: Yes, it means the pie is bigger, but it also means you need to work harder to earn your piece.
3. Keep recruitment for new HVAC techs
While the HVAC industry outlook for jobs remains strong, the lack of interest in the trades as a career among young people continues to cause concern. Despite the worry, other experts such as AHR Expo and ASHRAE Journal predict HVAC jobs will grow 15 percent over a 10-year period (2016-2026).
Is your HVAC company keeps to find and foster new talent for the industry? What advantages does your company have to make a better place to work than your competitors?
4. Company culture is important
Add improving company culture to your list of HVAC trends 2022. One of the most popular strategies is to incentivize performance and provide individual awards and team perks for achievement. HVAC future trends indicate company culture importance only increases in the coming years.
5. More employees prefer easy communication
Company culture is not only about rewards and gathering, but also about adopting tools to make the job easier and making company communication more immediate. Today’s workforce thinks phone calls as time-consuming and emails as more of a burden. Nearly 45 percent of workers say they prefer text over email in one 2019 survey.
How can HVAC shops leverage this shift in employee productivity and communication preferences? Using text more often between your techs and your office is one surefire way.
6. The “Internet of Things”
A few years ago, the Internet of Things was a buzz-phrase referring to a growing number of Wi-Fi-enabled household appliances. TVs. Stereos. Refrigerators. Thermostats. Today, it's estimated more than 14 million homes in the U.S. use “smart home” or "smart technology" devices and products—and that number is only expected to go up.
What does this mean for HVAC market? Does your company offer the Wi-Fi-enabled products and properly install them in customer homes and buildings? Do your employees know how to demonstrate the value of automation to customers?
7. Meaning for “going green”
More and more consumers show concerns about the environmental impact of the products and services they buy. And they're willing to pay more for the sustainability of options that are more environmentally friendly than others. GlobalWebIndex found a rising number of consumers were ready to pay for more expensive, eco-friendly products, including 46 percent of Baby Boomers and 61 percent of Millennials.
That means your HVAC shop should offer more efficient, eco-friendly products that satisfy the new trend, or else you will be losing out on helping the environment and also missing out on market share and bigger tickets tied to the HVAC market trend.
8. Customers’ expectations change
Lots of things are changing in HVAC market, including consumers' expectations, too.
A State of Global Customer Service survey found 78% of younger consumers expect customer service personnel to know their purchase history and contact information as soon as they start speaking to one another.
Is your HVAC business using customer relationship management methods and initiatives to provide the most convenient experience possible for your customers? Are you collecting customer and job information you can later leverage to customize marketing efforts and target different relevant customer segments? Ask yourself these kinds of customer service questions if you're looking to catch the trend in your industry.
9. Easy payment options replace check
Are your HVAC techs still writing invoices and crumpling up receipts? Or maybe your point-of-sale system doesn't play nice with your reporting or accounting software.
Either way, HVAC market trends indicate 2022 is the year to give your HVAC customers the same, easy POS credit card and check capture, online payment options, and other speedy payment features they're offered everywhere else.
10. 2022 could be geothermal’s “moment”
Geothermal heat pumps have been an eco-friendly solution for warming and cooling houses for a long time, but they don't seem to get as much attention as solar panels and other energy and money-saving solutions. Some industry watchers think that is about to change.
Geothermal heat pumps account for about only about 1 percent of the U.S. HVAC market. But, now that Congress has reinstated a tax credit for the HVAC technology. According to the Department of Energy, there are about 50,000 geothermal heat pumps installed across the country each year. If that HVAC industry number begins to increase...is your company ready to reap the benefits?
11. Covid-19 Impact
The HVAC industry started strong in 2020, but the global epidemic brought most of our economy to a screeching halt. While necessary and emergency repairs and service continued during that time, greater safety precautions will remain crucial to the HVAC industry outlook until the epidemic is truly over.
Even when the epidemic subsides and we return to some semblance of normal life, the safety precautions and remote work trends adopted during the epidemic are likely to remain in some forms.
12. Set homes to different zones
More customers want the ability to use smart thermostats to set air conditioning systems to different temperatures in different parts of their houses. While this isn't new, it's a big trend among HVAC equipment.
Customers desire this feature for not only convenience, but also energy efficiency reasons. HVAC manufacturers can think about a service for offering advice on what types of zoning are best for customers, depending upon their situations.
13. HVAC future trends get smarter
Smart homes, smart phones, and smart HVAC systems are in demand more than ever. From self-regulation to remote temperature adjustment to sensors to integration of energy controls, technology gives us more control than ever over our houses’ energy output.
Organizations like the ASHRAE offer guides for manufacturers and HVAC contractors to follow, so they can provide the best and safest service possible to homeowners and other consumers.
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