According to estimates by the International Energy Agency, there will be about 5.5 billion air conditioners in China by 2050. This would represent most of the world’s demand, and a growing refrigeration market.

In this article, you will understand more about these numbers and about the market as a whole. What are the growth projections, how is the market segmented and why is demand so high.

How is the refrigeration market in China?

Some relevant notes from the agency’s report:

• The market is expected to reach a valuation of about US$42 billion in 2015.
• In 2018, around 60% of Chinese households had some form of air conditioning.
• Before the pandemic, China accounted for about 40% of the global air conditioner market.

Currently, the market is segmented based on these available devices:

• Split: device with two parts, one that is inside the house and another that is outside.
• Window: all components are in the same housing and are generally cheaper.
• Portable: all components are in the same housing and can be moved from room to room.
• Central: used for building cooling.
• VRF: Similar to split, but has a single outdoor unit that can connect to multiple indoor units.

In 2016, China accounted for 54% of global sales of VRF sets. Split are also popular in the country.

Air conditioning technologies

In the past, consumers preferred cheaper and lower quality products. However, today there is a high demand for more technological and efficient devices.

Therefore, there is a movement of manufacturers to make their components more efficient in terms of cooling capacity and energy efficiency.

Here at Vibroacustica we develop several projects related to improving the performance of these devices, especially compressors. Click here to see some of our services.

Through simulation and different types of numerical tests, it is possible to achieve improvements in many aspects, such as the aforementioned energy consumption and cooling capacity.

In addition, there is also demand for “smart” devices, that interact with smartphones and cloud computing.

Important notes about refrigeration market in China

According to Daxue Consulting, specialized in market research, these are other relevant points about the market in the country:

• Climatic conditions and the increase in per capita income are directly related to the refrigeration market.
• Smart devices are preferred by the public that wants high-end products.
• In 2020, possibly due to the pandemic, the market decreased by 16.5% compared to the previous year.
• Splits remain the most popular for home use, while VRF are preferred in the industry.

In addition, the consultancy highlights that investment in R&D is essential to achieve the quality standard expected by consumers. In this sense, companies and engineers specialized in NVH are key to optimize components, reduce costs and increase performance.