Retail shipments are eye-catching, and home appliance enterprises collectively strive to clean heating equipment

Affected by the El Ni ñ o phenomenon, the autumn of 2023 is milder than in previous years. However, as November approaches, the "belated" cold air from the north has arrived along with the express delivery of the promotion, and winter heating is about to be put on the agenda. In addition to traditional heating methods such as centralized heating, stove fires, and air conditioning, clean energy equipment such as wall mounted stoves and air energy heat pumps are entering Chinese households.

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Differentiation of sales paths for wall mounted furnaces

The wall mounted furnace, which entered the view of the Chinese people due to the "coal to gas" transformation, experienced a period of "silence" after the brutal growth from 2016 to 2018, and the development path of the wall mounted furnace is also changing. The relevant person in charge of Midea told China Home Appliance Network that although the absolute size of the wall mounted stove market is not very large, there are still many structural opportunities in the segmented market, This year, Midea has relocated its wall mounted stoves from the original kitchen heating business unit to the HVAC business unit. In our sales practice, we have found that many users who have installed central air conditioning also choose to install wall mounted stoves at the same time, in order to achieve interactive regulation of household energy from multiple sources. From the perspective of shipment, the retail growth of wall mounted stoves is very good, especially in southern non heating areas such as the Yangtze River Basin and Sichuan Chongqing, where consumers generally have a demand for wall mounted stoves Seek

According to the overall market promotion data of wall mounted furnaces released by Ovi Cloud in the first half of 2023, the omnichannel sales of wall mounted furnaces in the first half of the year were about 677000 units, a year-on-year decrease of 1.5%. However, in different channel channels, product performance differentiation is evident. Among them, the sales volume of retail channels was about 490000 units, a year-on-year increase of 35.1%, with clear signs of sales recovery; In the engineering channel, shipments have significantly decreased, with sales of 94000 units for conventional projects, a year-on-year decrease of 53.9%, and 93000 units for coal conversion channels, a year-on-year decrease of 35.2%. Ovi analysts judge that retail channels are becoming the core driving force for the growth of the wall mounted stove market, while engineering channels are fading.

Midea mentioned that although the "coal reform" significantly boosted the shipment of wall mounted furnaces, there were also some problems during the process, especially in the context of layered bidding at that time. Some winning wall mounted furnace products were very cheap but of poor quality, and "there may already be some opportunities for renewal in the market".

The person in charge believes that as a Western style imported product, wall mounted stoves were previously used by a niche audience. Chinese local brands have relatively insufficient investment in wall mounted stoves, and the "coal reform" has promoted the popularization of consumer awareness in this category and also made relevant enterprises pay more attention to product research and development. During the 'coal renovation' process, some installed wall mounted boilers are actually very gas intensive, and many users have expressed that they are hesitant to operate them for a long time. According to the normal gas prices in China, if it is a family space of over 100 square meters and the heating is continuously supplied for three months in winter, the gas cost for a heating season is around 10000 yuan. However, if the product has high energy-saving indicators, it can actually save a lot of costs, so in the end, we will find that the maximum cost of wall mounted boilers is The cost is not the cost of purchasing and installing machines, but the consumption in daily use

He mentioned that the current energy efficiency indicators of wall mounted furnace products in China are relatively low, and there are no fixed regulations for exhaust emissions, In countries and regions with relatively mature development of wall mounted furnaces, such as Japan and Europe, a relatively mature standard system has been established for energy efficiency and exhaust emissions of wall mounted furnaces. However, there is currently a lack of standards in this area in China. This also leads to some confusion for consumers when choosing energy saving products and gas consuming products, such as pricing differences. To achieve very energy-saving wall mounted furnaces, their technical threshold is high and they require very efficient combustion system support And this is something that small businesses cannot do. So we are also calling for the establishment of an energy efficiency grading system for the Chinese wall mounted furnace industry, so as to promote technological progress in the industry and let consumers know that through standard positioning, they have achieved energy conservation and made contributions to environmental friendliness

Currently, gas subsidies in some "coal to gas" areas, including Beijing, have begun to decline. Once normal gas prices are restored, the heating costs of wall mounted boiler users in corresponding areas will inevitably increase by varying degrees. For consumers, choosing more energy-efficient wall mounted boilers or other heating methods will be on the agenda.

In the long run, the development of wall mounted stoves in the south may be better than in the north. On the one hand, the heating season in the south is shorter and there is no centralized heating, and more and more consumers have a demand for comfortable heating. Spending 10000 to 20000 yuan to purchase a wall mounted stove with higher comfort is becoming a new decoration trend for many southern families. In building materials channels, including some home designers, they will recommend consumers to install wall mounted stoves

Air energy heat pumps usher in a period of development opportunities

In the north, after wall mounted boilers, air energy heat pumps are becoming another heating option for local non central heating users.

In the original article titled "Promoting the Reform of Clean Energy Methods in the Rural Market and Accelerating Air Heating" by China Home Appliance Network, it was mentioned that in many self built houses in rural areas of Hebei Province, users choose to install air energy heat pumps for heating. Air energy heat pumps are favored by consumers due to their low operating costs, high safety factors, and no risk of "gas shortage", resulting in impressive industry growth.

Regarding this, the relevant person in charge of Wanhe stated that, Air energy heat pumps have great development potential, and next year we plan to increase our efforts in this field. We have now organized personnel to adjust and implement the products. For the air energy heat pump market, we have conducted some preliminary research and found that some small heating enterprises in the industry can easily achieve retail sales of several billion yuan per year. The key is that these shipments are not through engineering volume, but purely rely on the retail end, which is quite shocking . We have also analyzed this. On the one hand, air energy heat pumps belong to the new category, and their incremental space exists; In addition, the main cost of air energy heat pumps lies in the one-time investment in the early stage. Its one-time purchase price is relatively high, but the subsequent use cost is very low. Consumers can use it for a few years, which is very electricity and money saving. Another point is that currently, air energy heat pumps are non-standard products that pay more attention to installation and service attributes. To be more straightforward, dealers have a larger bargaining space and are willing to promote this product. As far as we know, the growth of air energy heat pumps in the northern region is relatively rapid, especially in some villages. As long as there is one installation, every household will follow the trend in the future. In addition, in some mountain homestays, many businesses also purchase air energy products for heating and water supply, solving the problem of homestays being unable to provide centralized heating. The cost of using the product is lower than that of gas and air conditioning

At the same time, the person in charge believes that with the entry of more leading manufacturers and the increase in industry volume, the installation cost of the air energy heat pump industry will become more transparent. Now, with the increase of optional brands and products, the initial installation cost of air energy heat pumps is expected to go down. In fact, on platforms such as Tmall, consumers can search for similar installation standards, such as pipelines and prices per square meter. However, in first and second tier cities, consumers can also consult local decoration companies, who will provide product quotes. In fact, when the industry becomes large enough, the standard of service Standardization will become more mature, and prices will naturally become more transparent

Meibo Air Conditioning mentioned to China Home Appliance Network that Meibo has seen good growth in the Northeast region this year, and one of the company's differentiated strategies is to launch "low-temperature normal operation" air energy heat pump products in the region. In Northeast China, such as Harbin, there are extreme cold weather conditions, and general air energy heat pump products may not be able to start under extremely low temperature conditions. Considering this pain point, our product adopts a comprehensive compressor to ensure that the product can operate and heat normally in extremely cold weather. Air energy heat pump has also become our main product project in Northeast China

According to industry online data, the domestic sales of air energy heat pumps in China reached 19.22 billion yuan in 2022, and it is predicted that this value will increase to 21.65 billion yuan in 2023.

In addition to the accelerated growth of the domestic market, the demand for air energy heat pumps in the European market has also provided new export opportunities for domestic manufacturers. The development of the situation in Russia and Ukraine once led to a surge in European energy prices. In May 2022, the European Commission announced an energy plan called REPowerEU, aiming to break away from dependence on fossil fuels through the development of photovoltaics, heat pumps, geothermal energy, hydrogen energy, and biomass energy. The plan mentions that EU member states are committed to installing 10 million heat pump products for individual consumers over the next five years, and the corresponding subsidy policies have also stimulated the demand for air energy heat pump installation among European consumers. In 2022, China's export of air energy heat pumps to Europe increased by 48.7% year-on-year. The person in charge of Midea Building Technology stated that last year, the overall export quota of Midea heat pump products increased by over 200%; Haier's European market leader also mentioned that the company's order volume for air source heat pumps increased by 10 times last year, with the French, Italian, and German markets leading the growth rate.