In the last few years, the rapid rise of heat pumps for heating and cooling has changed the Chinese industry. This second article in our global heat pump market series also explores the market uptake of natural refrigerants, such as CO2, in hot water heat pumps.
In China, the world’s biggest supplier of room air conditioners (RAC), the share of heat pumps has grown rapidly over the last few years. In 2007, about 82%, or 20.1 million RAC units, were heat pump (HP) types. Reduced costs for key components and an increased production scale have made HP types’ prices come close to that of cooling only units.
Especially in cold areas of North China with temperatures of -15°C during winter, the use of heat pumps has paid off for a balanced winter heating and summer cooling. Ground source heat pumps are here the preferred type, spreading now from north to south China. However, in Southern regions air-source type heat pumps are more suitable due to a small heating need in winter. Some provinces and cities have already released plans to encourage the use of HP systems.
General HVAC&R and Policy trends
Overall, China has seen a rapid development of the heating and cooling market over the last 20 years, reaching 90.8 billion RMB (€9.4 billion) in 2007. In the world’s largest developing country, buildings now contribute up to 25% to the national energy consumption. Out of this, 60% are used for heating and cooling, another 15% for hot water heating. Not surprisingly, the Chinese government has taken more serious steps to limit energy shortage and promote renewable energies in buildings. On 1 June, 2008, a draft version of “The Minimum Allowable Values of the Energy Efficiency and energy efficiency grades for room air conditioners” was released. The new standard, to come into force in March 2009, specifies that for a RAC with a cooling capacity of less than 4,5000W, a COP of at least 3.2 is required to enter the market. Moreover, a national “Energy Saving Law”, expected for this year, will set requirements for AC systems and refrigerators.
Hot Water Heat Pumps
The heat pump hot water market is still at an early stage in China. Between 2004 and 2007, the market grew at an average of 102% each year, reaching a total of 360 million RMB (€37 million) in 2005 and 1.20 billion RMB (€106 million) in 2007. Most of the HP water heaters used in commercial applications are 5 hp or 10 hp units. At present, there are about 100 hot water HP brands available produced by 200 Chinese manufacturers. As a result, the market, shared among mainly small OEMs, has become highly competitive, leaving product quality and production scales at low levels. Many manufacturers have given up further development of residential units, which had a negative effect on their development. Another problem is that the smallest capacity units are still too big for normal Chinese homes, being more suited for villas and big apartments.
To regulate the market, the Chinese government has released national standards on both commercial and residential HP water heaters. The standard for commercial products was put into force on 1 May, the one for residential ones will be released at the end of this year.
China ready for natural refrigerants?
According to a new report issued by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, natural refrigerants have been studied extensively in China. Currently, Chinese universities are especially investigating CO
2 automotive air conditioning and heat pump water heating. Although R744 heat pumps are widely available in neighbouring Japan, their market adoption in China still seems to be slow due to lower prices for HCFC equipment. Another reason for market hesitation is a difference in usage of hot water, where Japanese tend to take long baths (CO
2 heat pumps are especially effective) and Chinese prefer showers.
However, China is currently in a process of moving beyond “Made in China” to “Innovated in China”, with more than 120 universities involved in teaching, researching, and developing HVAC&R technologies. Moreover, an upsurge of strong Chinese manufacturers and a rising number of co-operations with foreign partners suggests that the development and uptake of new technologies will further accelerate in the near future.
