According to a new report from IMS Research – now part of IHS (NYSE:IHS) – the Chinese building automation market was estimated at $181.6 million in 2012, and is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.7% to $344.5 million in 2017. This growth is expected take the form of solutions designed specifically for individual verticals such as airports and datacenters.
Despite the many guidelines and regulations on green buildings that have been issued in China since the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the China building automation equipment market has remained smaller than its North American and Western European counterparts. Most of the existing building automation systems in China are being used for basic functions such as turning on/off equipment and basic control of temperature and humidity, with many systems completely left idle.
In recent years, building automation solutions that have targeted the specific needs within key end-user industries, have seen faster growth than the overall market,” suggested Rita Liu, building automation analyst at IHS. “For example, within the pharmaceutical industry; dedicated building automation controllers that contain embedded actuators can adopt pressure control principles in a more efficient manner which is required in critical and sensitive environments. Solutions that answer specific questions posed by individual vertical markets will likely increase the popularity of building automation systems in China.”
Within China airports and datacenters are estimated to be the two fastest growing vertical markets for building automation systems in the next five years. According to China’s Twelfth Five-Year Plan, 70 new airports will be built, 15 relocated and 101 redeveloped and expanded during the period. Next-generation information technology was also singled out as a strategic emerging industry. It is expected that 10 provincial governments will build 30 large datacenters of more than 1,000 square meters each to support local public services over the next five years.
“Both local and international building automation companies have an opportunity to take advantage of the fast growth forecast for airports and datacenters. Providers that focus on specific building automation solutions for airports and datacenters are most likely to win those new projects,” Liu concluded.