THE UK air conditioning market grew to £662.8m last year, according to a new report from MBD. This represented an overall increase of 10% in nominal terms compared to 2000.
MBD expects the market to increase by 2% per year from 2004 to 2009 to reach £726.7m at 2004 prices. Much of this growth is expected to come from industrial and commercial new construction activity, where demand for air conditioning is expected to be high. The refurbishment sector is projected to continue, as units and developments built in the 1970s are now due for renovation and building regulations demand working environments to be of a specific standard.

Packaged ac sales are predicted to increase by 9% over the next five years, while close control systems are expected to increase by 12%. Portable ac sales are expected to increase by around 3% per year between 2004 and 2009.

Central plant equipment is also expected to increase by a cumulative 11% by 2009. Growth in the air handling unit sector is expected to be between 1% and 3% per year. Packaged chiller sales are also expected to increase by 9% over the same period.

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