As more and more companies work towards designing systems that are energy-efficient, older systems will be put out of use. New products that are environmentally friendly and meet certification standards are slowly becoming the norm. There is, of course, concerns expressed at environmentally friendly technologies being expensive, however, experts argue that it will pay back over time due to savings in energy.

Khuldoon Hameed of TransGulf Electromechanical has a positive outlook about the HVAC sector in the region, and one of the factors that will contribute to the growth, he says, is technological innovations. “The cost of HVAC equipment and, in particular, cooling dominates energy consumption of an infrastructure scheme,” he says. “Though the cost of cooling – and, therefore, energy – is dependent on numerous variables, the mean appears that HVAC accounts for well over 50-60% of an infrastructure’s consumption. More efficient cooling systems have managed to slash energy expenditure of units by roughly 30-40%. However, large-scale HVAC units continue to post high demand propelled by the aforementioned global events and shift in environmental focus.”

Additionally, the increase in regulations by the UAE government that requires older, inefficient systems to be replaced with those meeting present days’ environmental specifications works in the industry’s favour, says Hameed. “This represents a tremendous long-term growth for the HVAC sector,” he says, while cautioning that now there is an increasing competition from Chinese manufacturers who have are entering the market equipped with “advanced” technologies.