The heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) industry is currently undergoing a quite significant phase of change, with technology rendering heating and cooling units smaller, more efficient and smarter than before. However, a cutting-edge product is just a starting point for success. Also, energy savings and cost optimizations are critical part of the design process. As consequence, HVAC systems are becoming „smarter“ every day, with interconnectivity und predictive operations being at the forefront of this newfound smartness.
The introduction of IoT in HVAC enables technology providers to launch customer focused solutions, resulting in better productivity and greater energy efficiency. New, IoT powered smart devices offer big efficiency improvements and cost-savings. For instance, it senses body heat to switch off or switch on the units automatically, remains connected online to be operated remotely even while away from the premises, and triggers alerts for pre-emptive services and repairs.
Paying customers can quickly become impatient and dissatisfied at the failure of something like air conditioning.
The best solution to control unexpected issues is to invest in proper preventive maintenance, which ensure that equipement works in full conditions for longer, with better performance and fewer failures. Changing filters regularly, checking registers and schedule seasonal cleanings are examples of how it should be done.
Today competition is quite high, allthough the market for HVAC (including services) will continue to grow, competition will become fiercer. Many of HVAC service providers rely on brand loyalty, means also that they don‘t get a lot of new customers – competition is a lot based on price. One thing to deal with increasing competition is to maintain the integrity of the business and to continue providing high-level services. This makes the customer base of service providers loyal and refer them to other people.
This is a problem HVAC businesses are faced with. Current tradespeople are getting older and consequently there is a need for new experts. There is already a shortage of HVAC technicians and this demand is even growing. This means that HVAC providers are not only focused on getting customers, but also in finding skilled technicians.
Financial problems are probably one of the most common reasons why small HVAC companies close down. The stiff competition and high operations costs force them to shut down.
HVAC companies are busiest at times of extreme cold or heat. Extreme temperatures increase the number of calls and technicians become imundated with the number of maintenance requests. If they have 5 teams and they get eight calls from consumers, they will have to set priorities with the consequence of turning down customers.
One way to handle this is to manage well the planning schedule and make the most of busy times, also potentially anticipating problems and prevent these.
One of the most significant challenges for HVAC professionals and businesses is to have an ability to proactively interact with customer after the initial installation or servicing providing:
Remote monitoring and predictive maintenance – the ability to monitor HVAC systems allows you to reach out to your customers and initiate servcing to help them avoid severe technical issues in the future.
A service provision application designed for the HVAC professional saves time and resources through HVAC remote monitoring, diagnostics, and predictive maintenance.
Gain access to data from HVAC systems you have installed.
The installation of an intermediary hardware device enables you to access the HVAC system data. There‘s no limit to the number of systems and for each system you can:
At some point in time your customer may ask you about connecting an HVAC system to a smart home device.
While in the past this may not have been a serious problem, but with the incredible popularity of smart home devices this may become a significant need to provide a simple connectivity solution.
Since nowadays most people assume everything comes with an app, some of your customer have no doubt already asked you for a web or mobile application to remotely control their HVAC.
While some of the HVAC manufacturers have developed an application for this purpose, using a different application for each individual manufacturer is a significant task for you and mainly, your customer. The ultimate solution would be finding a universal application that can be used for just about every VRF and split HVAC system, and can even be used if multiple HVAC brands are being used in a single location.
Most people associated with HAVC industry will be familiar with BACnet, a communication protocol for automated controls within large building complexes.
This protocol has been in service since the turn of the century and provides a convenient one stop solution to building managers for controlling various functions from one console. Incorporation of IoT within the HVAC system will enable building managers to be even more flexible with their choices. Temparture ranges can be set which would be restricted to what a the manager wants, in order to save energy. Operating modes can be automatically adjusted by the HVAC systems based upon the occupancy of a specific room.
Moreover, energy companies are now pushing for demand management across locations. What this means is that whenever there is an increase in load demand, energy utilities can automatically alter HVAC temperature and mode settings to decrease power demand from a specific building. In returm, the utilities give out rebates for the amount of energy saved through these measures. This direct control of HVAC appliances by a utility is made possible by the interconnectivity provided by IoT.
