North American Radiant Heating Markets

SUMMARY

Lack of Skilled and Knowledgeable Installation Agents Hinders Growth

The hydronic radiant industry has been growing at a steady pace. One of the main challenges faced by the industry is having enough trained contractors to do the work. The main reason behind this, like with most other members of the building trade, is the skepticism of the design community and contractors towards the acceptance of hydronic radiant heating as an alternate system. Their argument is that these systems take more money, more supervision and it is a heavy responsibility as any fault or error in the work can lead to bad consequences. These people often have a direct contact with the client but instead of informing about the benefits of these systems, the contractors often try to talk them out of it. This leads to adverse affects on the growth of the industry. Though there is an increase in consumer awareness of the benefits of the system, the customers are facing difficulty in finding competent, trained and knowledgeable installers to do the work. As a result the customers tend to approach the plumbers who have the equipment and skill to assemble the system but often lack the knowledge of heating technology and controls or the HVAC contractors who have a clear understanding of heat loss and controls but are reluctant to be involved in hydronics part of the industry.The limitation of the number of contractors in the talent pool is expected to have a high impact till 2008. As the manufacturers and other associations make an effort to combat the shortage of qualified people by factory training, the impact of this challenge is likely to reduce to medium for the rest of the forecast period.

Increasing Comfort Consciousness Drives Sales

Comfort is the primary objective behind the installation of any heating or cooling system. And, by far the biggest selling point for radiant floor heating is comfort.

Maintaining comfort levels is not a matter of supplying heat to the body; instead it is a matter of regulating the heat loss of the body. When the interior conditions are such that they allow the body to loose the heat at the same rate it is produced, the body feels comfortable. If the heat is released faster or slower than the rate at which it is generated, the body feels some amount of discomfort. So, to reach a level of comfort, it is necessary to regulate the rate at which heat is released by means of radiation from the body.

Efficiently designed radiant systems control both the air temperature and surface temperature of the space to maintain optimal comfort levels. Heat emitters like radiant floors and ceilings raise the average surface temperature of the room and thus help in enhancing the comfort. Today's comfort conscious homeowners are seeking alternatives to heating their homes, and radiant floor heating is one option that many are opting for.

Booming Residential Construction Drives Demand

The total radiant heating market was $467.6 million in 2004. New construction accounts for approximately 60.0 percent of the revenues, with retrofits reporting less than 40.0 percent in 2004. The radiant heating market generated 72.4 percent of the revenues from the residential sector in 2004 with 27.6 percent of revenues from the nonresidential sector. Although North America has witnessed adverse economy since 2000, the new home construction market has demonstrated robust growth trends attributed mainly to lower interest rates. In the United States, the number of residential units has increased by 14.0 percent in the western region between 2001 and 2002. While during the same period South Central and South Atlantic witnessed an increase of 10.8 percent and 13.9 percent, respectively. Similarly, in the North East there was an actual increase of 11.4 percent in the number of residential units in 2002 over 2001. In Canada, the residential construction market witnessed an increase of 4.7 percent in 2002 over the previous year, with construction gross domestic product (GDP) totaling more than $15.00 billion. In 2003, there was an increase of 4.1 percent over 2002 in value of residential construction in United States. The increase in new home construction promises a huge potential for the radiant heating market, as a large portion of the demand for radiant heating is received from the residential segment

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 1. Executive Summary
  • 1. Market Overview & Definitions
    • 1. Market Overview and Definitions
    • 2. Competitive Analysis
  • 2. Summary of Major Findings
    • 1. Market Forecasts and Opportunities
    • 2. Analysis by Product Type
    • 3. Conclusions
• 2. Total North American Radiant Heating Markets
  • 1. Market Overview & Definitions
    • 1. Market Overview and Definitions
    • 2. End-user Definitions
    • 3. Definition of Revenues
    • 4. Market Engineering Measurements
  • 2. Market Dynamics
    • 1. Industry Challenges
    • 2. Primary Market Drivers
    • 3. Secondary Market Drivers
    • 4. Market Restraints
  • 3. Market Forecasts and Trends
    • 1. Revenue Forecasts
    • 2. Geographic Trends
    • 3. End-user Trends
    • 4. Demand Analysis
    • 5. Market and Technology Trends
  • 4. Frost & Sullivan Awards
    • 1. Product Differentiation Innovation Award
    • 2. Market Leadership Award
    • 3. Product Innovation Award
    • 4. Internet Marketing Strategy Leadership Award
• 3. Hydronic Radiant Heating Markets
  • 1. Market Overview and Definitions
    • 1. Market Overview
    • 2. Product Definition
    • 3. Market Engineering Measurements
  • 2. Market Forecasts
    • 1. Revenue Forecasts
    • 2. Unit Shipment Trends
    • 3. Pricing Trends
    • 4. Geographic Trends
    • 5. End-user Trends
    • 6. Demand Analysis
    • 7. Market and Technology Trends
  • 3. Competitive Analysis
    • 1. Competitive Structure
    • 2. Market Share Analysis
• 4. Electric Radiant Heating Markets
  • 1. Market Overview and Definitions
    • 1. Market Overview
    • 2. Product Definition
    • 3. Market Engineering Measurements
  • 2. Market Forecasts
    • 1. Revenue Forecasts
    • 2. Unit Shipment Trends
    • 3. Pricing Trends
    • 4. Geographic Trends
    • 5. End-user Trends
    • 6. Demand Analysis
    • 7. Market and Technology Trends
  • 3. Competitive Analysis
    • 1. Competitive Structure
    • 2. Market Share Analysis
• 5. Econometrics
  • 1. Decision Support Database Tables
    • 1. Value of New Construction (United States)
    • 2. Average Retail Electricity Price (Cents/Kwh)
    • 3. Heating Equipment Used by Occupied Housing Units (United States)
    • 4. New Housing Units by Floor Area (United States)
    • 5. Highest and Lowest Temperature by State (United States)

List Of Figures

• Figure 1-1 Total Radiant Heating Market: Revenue Forecasts (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 1-2 Total Radiant Heating Market: Revenues by Product Type (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 2-1 Total Radiant Heating Market: Impact of Top Industry Challenges (North America), 2005-2011
• Figure 2-2 Total Radiant Heating Market: Market Drivers Ranked in Order of Impact (North America), 2005-2011
• Figure 2-3 Total Radiant Heating Market: Market Restraints Ranked in Order of Impact (North America), 2005-2011
• Figure 2-4 Total Radiant Heating Market: Revenue Forecasts (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 2-5 Total Radiant Heating Market: Revenues by Product Type (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 2-6 Total Radiant Heating Market: Percent of Revenues by Product Type (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 2-7 Total Radiant Heating Market: Revenues by Geographic Regions (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 2-8 Total Radiant Heating Market: Percent of Revenues by Geographic Regions (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 2-9 Total Radiant Heating Market: Revenues by End-User Type (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 2-10 Total Radiant Heating Market: Percent of Revenues by End-User Type (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 3-1 Hydronic Radiant Heating Market: Revenue Forecasts (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 3-2 Hydronic Radiant Heating Market: Geographic Segmentation by State (United States), 2004
• Figure 3-3 Hydronic Radiant Heating Market: Revenues by Geographic Region (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 3-4 Hydronic Radiant Heating Market: Percent of Revenues by Geographic Region (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 3-5 Hydronic Radiant Heating Market: Revenues by End-Users (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 3-6 Hydronic Radiant Heating Market: Percent of Revenues by End-Users (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 3-7 Hydronic Radiant Heating Market: Competitive Structure (North America), 2004
• Figure 3-8 Hydronic Radiant Heating Market: Company Market Share by Revenues (North America), 2004
• Figure 4-1 Electric Radiant Heating Market: Revenue Forecasts (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 4-2 Electric Radiant Heating Market: Geographic Segmentation by State (United States), 2004
• Figure 4-3 Electric Radiant Heating Market: Revenues by Geographic Region (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 4-4 Electric Radiant Heating Market: Percent of Revenues by Geographic Region (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 4-5 Electric Radiant Heating Market: Revenues by End-Users (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 4-6 Electric Radiant Heating Market: Percent of Revenues by End-Users (North America), 2001-2011
• Figure 4-7 Electric Radiant Heating Market: Competitive Structure (North America), 2004
• Figure 4-8 Electric Radiant Heating Market: Company Market Share by Revenues (North America), 2004