21 December 2015
|
| Change is consistent in everything we do and experience. Here are some 2016 predictions for change in the air conditioning, refrigeration and heat pump industry. |  |
The Internet of Things
No longer will air conditioning, refrigeration and heat pump systems work in isolation. It’s not just computers that will have an ‘IP address’, the internet’s way of identifying a machine connected to it. Data collected from each unit will help move the industry away from reacting to climatic conditions to predicting them and becoming more efficient.
Content continues after advertisements
The industry will continue to grow – but, where?
Some analysts predict the global industry will grow by 7% between now and 2020. Great…if your business in the Asia-Pacific region.
What about closer to home? Anecdotally, it is still tough ‘out there’ but new entrants into the market need to work hard at developing relationships to stand a chance of getting their systems considered. There will be new entrants into the cooling market from names more closely associated with heating. Life is going to get more competitive, so be prepared to step your sales and marketing efforts up, which leads me onto the next prediction.
What about closer to home? Anecdotally, it is still tough ‘out there’ but new entrants into the market need to work hard at developing relationships to stand a chance of getting their systems considered. There will be new entrants into the cooling market from names more closely associated with heating. Life is going to get more competitive, so be prepared to step your sales and marketing efforts up, which leads me onto the next prediction.
More mobile
If your website is not ‘mobile-friendly’, you’d better make sure it is, quickly. This industry is shifting rapidly to the internet for finding information. We know that ourselves. Over 30% of our website visitors do so on a smartphone or tablet PC. A year ago, it was 5% or less.
So what?
People can’t be bothered to hang about on websites which are not mobile-friendly, so you lose a chance to help them. Get your website fixed and get more business.
Get to know 'SEO' - Not heard of it? It stands for search engine optimisation, which means making your website more friendly to search engines and visitors than your competitors. Ignore it at your peril and hire someone who knows your industry and SEO.
So what?
People can’t be bothered to hang about on websites which are not mobile-friendly, so you lose a chance to help them. Get your website fixed and get more business.
Get to know 'SEO' - Not heard of it? It stands for search engine optimisation, which means making your website more friendly to search engines and visitors than your competitors. Ignore it at your peril and hire someone who knows your industry and SEO.
Finally, we hope you enjoyed the 2015 issues of the ACR Journal in their ‘perfect bound’ style celebrating our 25th anniversary. We will keep bringing you the best industry information in print and online.
Have a great, connected 2016!
Will Hawkins - Editor
Have a great, connected 2016!
Will Hawkins - Editor
