Across the country, state and local governments are mandating lower building emissions, pushing building owners to full electrification. Building codes and natural gas bans, however, only target new construction.
While proponents claim that electrification is necessary to reduce global warming, critics say that it limits choices for consumers and that some electric technologies may not be as efficient or reliable as their fossil fuel counterparts.
There is no question that the current environmental trend right now is electrification, which is part of an overall strategy to decarbonize our society. As with most everything in life, perhaps moderation would be a better way to approach electrification.
A ban on the installation of natural gas infrastructure in new buildings is coming soon to a town near you, and the local HVAC industry needs to be prepared — or maybe not.
According to the “Heating Equipment Market in the U.S.” study from The Freedonia Group, forced-air heating is the preferred comfort delivery method in the U.S. Of those, warm-air furnaces comprise the vast majority of the overall demand with 64 percent of the total value of sales in 2016.
The global heat exchangers market was valued $12.61 billion in 2015 and is projected to reach $20.12 billion by 2022, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9 percent from 2016 to 2022, according to Heat Exchangers Market Report published by Allied Market Research. The shell and tube heat exchanger segment held approximately one-fourth of the total market share in 2015.