ISH 2023, the world’s leading trade fair for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) plus water, was held from March 13 to 17 at Frankfurt am Main in Germany.
During the five-day fair, the passion for innovations was unleashed for the first time in four years due to the pandemic, and visitors enjoyed making up for lost time. According to the organizer, 2,025 exhibitors from 54 countries presented their market-ready solutions for a sustainable future in two main sections: ISH Energy and ISH Water. They showed the latest developments for the HVAC and intelligent home and building automation markets.
Heating Giants Place Huge Emphasis on Heat Pump Exhibits
This is the most significant difference compared with the previous ISH four years ago.
The giants displayed not only air-to-water (ATW) heat pumps but also a rich lineup of air-to-air (ATA) heat pumps. Their active promotion means that the entire industry is transforming because the giants significantly influence the European market and beyond, exerting an influence on the global market.
Many renowned heating brands such as Bosch, BDR Thermea, Glen Dimplex, Nibe, Stiebel Eltron, Vaillant, Viessmann, and Wolf highlighted their ATW heat pumps this year.
Unfortunately, JARN’s reporter did not find the French and Italian heating giants among the exhibitors.
AC Giants Expand Heating Lineups
Daikin, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning, LG, Midea, Mitsubishi Electric, Panasonic, Samsung, and other air conditioning giants participated in this event.
R32 heat pump chillers for commercial use attracted many visitors.
In terms of ATA heat pumps, they displayed room air conditioners (RACs), packaged air conditioners (PACs), and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems. R32 VRFs for buildings drew visitors’ attention.
Are Gold Diggers Swarming across Europe?
In addition to big brands, many small-to-medium-sized brands seized the business opportunities created by the rapid growth of ATW heat pumps in Europe and displayed products tailored to address the needs of the market. These brands are distributed in Eastern Europe, such as in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Serbia, as well as in Southern Europe, such as in Spain and Portugal. Many of these brands sell ATW heat pumps on an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) or original design manufacturing (ODM) basis from China, while some of them conduct local manufacturing, and both of those types were showcased at ISH.
Heat Pump Components
Heat pump component manufacturers from Europe also participated in ISH, and included Bitzer, CAREL, Danfoss, ebm-papst, Frascold, SWEP, Systemair, Trox, Wilo, and Ziehl-Abegg. In Europe, overheating of the ATW heat pump market has now led to shortages of key heat pump components such as electronically commutated (EC) fans and water pumps.
Asian manufacturers brought their latest R290 rotary and scroll compressors to the scene, while European manufacturers showcased their R290 semi-hermetic reciprocating compressors.
Variety of Exhibited ATW Heat Pumps
The diverse heating culture in Europe requires different kinds of ATW heat pumps.
At ISH, many monoblock and split types for single-family and multi-family houses were exhibited.
Almost all manufacturers, including small-to-medium-sized brands, have started promoting R290 ATW heat pumps, which were showcased at ISH. However, most ATW heat pumps currently on the market are still based on R32 refrigerant.
Hybrid types, such as those combined with photovoltaic (PV) power storage, solar thermal collectors, and gas-fired boiler systems, also attracted a lot of attention.
In addition to air conditioner manufacturers, PV industry players are entering the ATW heat pump market, and boiler manufacturers are strengthening their ATW heat pump lineups.
The enormous European heating market has attracted many gold diggers. But investing in a heat pump in the context of an overheated market can also cause many problems. For example, there is a severe shortage of installers, and there is a shortage of key components such as water pumps. In addition, whether the upcoming F-gas Regulation is practical or not will seriously affect the entire industry.
A new round of fierce competition in the European heat pump market is kicking off。
Post time: Apr-24-2023
