The annual market report prepared by AFEC reviews the main highlights of the HVAC market in 2024, the legislative environment and the trends and challenges for the sector in 2025.

AFEC, Association of Air Conditioning Equipment Manufacturers in Spain, presented to the media and members of the Spanish public administration the report on the HVAC market and sector situation in 2024.

The meeting, held at the headquarters of the Spanish Association for Standardisation UNE, was attended by Paloma García, Director of Standardisation Programmes and Stakeholders, who, after welcoming the participants, highlighted key aspects of the relevance of the new European regulations related to ESG (environment, society and governance); the importance given to the standardisation in the Compass of the European Competitiveness, the work of the OVM (Market Surveillance Observatory), the transformation of UNE towards the digitalisation or the collaboration of AFEC with UNE.

The AFEC market report, which has been consolidated in the sector after more than 17 years of trajectory, and at international level as a source of reference for EHPA (European Heat Pump Association), the IDAE (Spanish Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving) and Eurostat, due to the independancy, objectivity and reliability of data, with a growing representation and a constant adaptation to the evolution of the market.

On behalf of AFEC were the president Francisco Perucho; the president of the statistics  committee and former president of AFEC, Luis Mena; and the general director Marta San Román, who reviewed the market figures.

The report analyses the key issues for 2024, including the impact of the economic environment, the effects of one of the warmest years in history, the necessary transition to clean technologies, the importance of IAQ (indoor air quality), the increase in demand for data centres, AFEC's Heat Pump Promotion Plan and the communication campaign on regulation and control, the challenging market, aspects of just transition, the M&A trend, the value of ‘zero’, SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), etc.

It also highlights the enormous contribution of the guide ‘Heat pumps in the energy renovation of buildings’, written by AFEC together with the IDAE and which confirms that the HVAC industry is ready for the decarbonisation of air conditioning (heating and cooling), including ventilation and IAQ improvement, heat recovery, connectivity, regulation and control, etc. Although the renovation rate has seen an upturn, it is still far from the percentage needed to meet the decarbonisation targets, so this guide is a great reference to support the acceleration of heat pump deployment in existing buildings.

The document also reviews the regulatory environment 2024-2025, with a clear urgency to consolidate the single market, to harmonise and simplify legislation, the EU Heat Pump Accelerator Platform, the obligations on ventilation, air quality or regulation, or the evolution of new refrigerants in the framework of the new FGas. It also includes a reference to the white certificates or CAES (Certificates of Energy Saving), for which the involvement of AFEC has been fundamental for developing the ones related to heat pumps and ventilation.

AFEC’s statistical analysis of the air-conditioning market has evolved, and the number of participants, thus reaching a great representativenes of players, product ranges and state-of-the-art of the technology. The methodology guarantees independancy and objectivity, reliability and custody of the data, transparent governance and a secure procedure that complies with anti-competition laws.

The results show that the total market has remained flat, with a slight growth of 0.8% in value (sell-in). in particular, the AHU - air handling units - and heat recovery ventilation units segment stands out with a 19% increase. Meanwhile, heat pumps and air-conditioning equipment together hardly changed with respect to 2023, showing a minimal of -0.1%. There is a contrast between the decline in the residential sector and the increases in commercial and industrial. In the residential/domestic sector, ≈1,380,000 units and more than 850 million euros were sold.

As for heat pumps, the 5.5% , similar to that of Italy, is far from that of the other main European markets recently reported by EHPA, such as Germany and France, with decreases of -47.8% and -24% respectively.

Ventilation figures decreased by -1.9% in value in the residential sector, and by -1.1% in the industrial/tertiary sector. It is crucial and urgent to continue to raise awareness of the importance of ventilation and filtration systems and their maintenance.

The regulation and control market was also discussed qualitatively, highlighting that the technological evolution of smart and efficient HVAC is driving the development of increasingly advanced metering, sensing, regulation and control systems; and that 2025 could see rising demand, driven by regulations, AI and IoT applications.

Among the key trends for 2025, the focus was on the legislative tsunami, the winds of change in the European Union and its work programme for this year, the connected risk ecosystem in which the sector lives, the opportunity that an updated energy factor review would bring to the heat pump market, the need to prevent climate disinformation, etc.

After an introduction to the next edition of the C&R Fair, which will take place from 18 to 20 November in Madrid, the session concluded with a message of AFEC’s commitment to sustainability and energy transition. AFEC and the manufacturers remain aligned with European objectives and ready to offer innovative solutions that boost efficiency, comfort and environmental health in buildings.