Report Overview
Featuring 32 tables and 12 figures – now available in Excel and Powerpoint! Learn More
Demand for commercial indoor air quality equipment – including indoor air cleaning systems, mechanical ventilation systems, and replacement filters – is expected to grow 3.0% per year through 2025 to $1.2 billion. Despite the temporary closure of businesses and a shift to telecommuting for a number of workers because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the commercial market experienced robust gains in 2020 and 2021 – particularly for air cleaning systems – as building owners prioritized improving indoor air quality to mitigate the spread of the virus. Looking forward, continued growth will be dependent on:
- maintaining and growing awareness of indoor air quality issues
- educating end users on ways to improve air quality in both existing and new buildings
COVID-19 Pandemic Spurred Rapid Growth in Air Cleaning System Demand
The COVID-19 pandemic caused massive growth for indoor air cleaning systems, nearly doubling demand in value terms from a small base in 2020. Historically, building owners in the commercial market relied on heating and air conditioning systems or mechanical ventilation to improve air quality. The pandemic increased the need to install supplemental air treatment systems to enhance the overall indoor air quality and improve safety for building tenants and customers. While demand is expected to slow beginning in 2022, a larger base of installed systems will benefit recurring replacement filter sales going forward.
Growing Awareness of the Dangers of Poor Indoor Air Quality Crucial to Future Growth
Knowledge of the potential dangers of poor indoor air quality has expanded in the past few years, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, commercial building owners are increasingly investing in building enhancements to improve air quality with ventilation or air cleaning systems. General concerns for the health of tenants and customers, compounded by awareness of dangers like wildfires and future proliferation of COVID-19 variants, will help spur further adoption in the forecast. Although the emphasis on indoor air quality related specifically to COVID-19 may wane somewhat as the population continues to adapt to the pandemic and concerns lessen to some extent, future building projects are more likely to have increased measures to improve air quality to provide safe areas for building tenants and guests.
Mechanical Ventilation to Remain Dominant Technology
Despite some of the optimism found in the market for air cleaning systems, the investment by building owners in these type of systems will remain relatively low compared to residential homeowners. As such, mechanical ventilation products will continue to account for the majority of demand. Mechanical ventilation demand will benefit from growing awareness of issues that lead to poor indoor air quality such as limited air exchanges and tight building envelopes. Additionally, a strong outlook for commercial building construction will bolster growth prospects.
Products
Demand by Product
Demand for commercial indoor air quality equipment is expected to rise an average of 3.0% per year through 2025 to $1.2 billion, though the majority of growth will occur in the near term, with growth slowing down in the later part of the forecast period:
- Gains will be supported by growth in macroeconomic factors, such as new commercial building construction and renovation.
- Additionally, a heightened awareness of the detrimental effects of airborne viruses and contaminants – spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic – will cause building and business owners to be more willing to invest in indoor air quality equipment.
Central indoor air quality equipment demand will benefit from commercial investment in improving overall indoor air quality. While much of this growth will occur in the short term as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, continued concern for air quality, particularly as a result of issues like wildfires in the Western half of the United States, will support sales going forward.
Local units are expected to see slower gains on average through 2025. Demand will normalize following significant surges in 2020 and 2021, as these frequently entry-level products were easily able to be acquired and installed by users who were looking to quickly improve the air quality of their buildings.
Demand for replacement air filters is forecast to rise at the fastest pace through 2025. Continued support for conventional air filtration products, such as those with HEPA filters, will expand the base of products that potentially require filter replacements. Additionally, electronic indicators that remind end users to regularly change their filters will help maintain growth through the forecast period.