According to the report prepared by FEGECA (Heat Generators and Emitters Manufacturers), In recent years, the heating sector has been experiencing a positive growth trend.. While there was a gradual recovery in the sector after the pandemic in 2021, this trend continued its rise in 2022, primarily thanks to the global economy. Incentive programs included in the recovery plan. However, this growth has not been without major challenges, such as the energy crisis resulting from the conflict in Ukraine, rising raw material costs and component shortages.
As a result, the heating industry closed 2022 with a turnover of 1,036 million Euros (15% increase compared to the previous year). Despite the emergence of new challenges, the outlook for 2023 remains optimistic: decarbonization and the need for qualified installers.
As a result of all these changes necessary renewal and updating of both systems and professionals It currently operates in the heating sector. What may initially seem like an additional challenge can also be an opportunity, as it is foreseeable that the demand for services will increase in the future. In this sense, tools chronoshare They offer industry experts the opportunity to expand their customer portfolio.
chronoshare It is a marketplace that connects customers looking for services with professionals looking for new customers.. The operation is as follows: Customers can make a free request for the service they need, and the request is sent to professionals registered on the platform. These professionals can decide whether to accommodate the client’s request: if they decide they are interested, they can unlock their contact information using the platform’s virtual currency, cronos.
in 2022 The platform received nearly 15,000 requests related to the air conditioning (heating and air conditioning) sector.. And nearly 11,000 have been received so far in 2023.
The European Union and sustainability: The challenge of decarbonisation
Fossil fuel heating systems are responsible for large amounts of CO2 emissions every year. According to Celia Arroyo, Cronoshare’s marketing department editor who specializes in content related to installations and renewals, There are still many homes heated using natural gas, oil or coal, resulting in huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.
European Commission is aware of this problem and therefore They propose achieving emissions-free new buildings from 2028. In this sense, the European Parliament approved a directive to phase out heating with fossil fuels (such as gas or diesel); This will lead to the complete elimination of gas and diesel boilers between 2035 and 2040. In fact, the same European directive proposes to eliminate any financial incentives that state administrations may offer for such boilers with immediate effect from 2024. The alternative is to encourage sustainable and efficient heating systems through subsidies and tax advantages.
Specifically, some of the sustainable heating systems considered as the main alternatives are heat pumps, solar thermal and photovoltaic energy or biomass. In fact, the FEGECA report shows a progressive shift towards this type of heating systems, particularly highlighting the growth of the aerothermal market. While the preference for multitasking heat pumps increased by 48% in 2022, the growth in heat pumps for domestic hot water alone was 51%. However, the often high cost of installing these systems can pose a problem in achieving the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable heating.
from Europe too The door opens to a possible continuation as long as boilers are certified to run on renewable fuels. (like green hydrogen). While the enormous advantage of leveraging both the network and existing gas plants is highlighted, there are divided opinions in the industry, with some experts warning that the process of producing hydrogen can be inefficient. and very expensive, not to mention that the gas distribution system is not always adequate in this regard.
Lack of qualified workforce in the heating industry
The targets set in REPowerEU undoubtedly open up new opportunities for the European heating industry. In fact, according to a report published by EHI (European Heating Industry Association) in 2022; to meet goals created in this plan Number of installers must increase by up to 50% by 2030. In this sense, emerging The need to attract young people who receive education and decide to work professionally in this sector is increasing.
On the other hand, Existing heating installers will also need to adapt to this new scenario. In particular, most of them get the necessary training Being able to work with heat pumps and other more sustainable technologies.
The aforementioned FEGECA report covers the new skills they consider essential for heating installers: digitalization, hybridization, electrification, system optimization, refrigerants and decarbonized gases.
We must add the following importance to all this: digitization for entrepreneurs right now. Therefore, professionals who want to take advantage of opportunities in the heating sector will also need to consider how necessary it is to have visibility on the Internet, whether through their own website or other tools such as Chronoshare.