Air-source heat pumps, as an efficient, environmentally friendly, and energy-saving heating and cooling equipment, have gained widespread attention and application globally in recent years. In China, with the transformation of the energy structure and the increase in the proportion of clean energy, the air-source heat pump industry has shown a robust growth trend. In 2023, the sales scale of air-source heat pumps reached 30.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.2%.
The working principle of air-source heat pumps is based on the reverse Carnot principle, which consumes a portion of mechanical work (such as electrical energy) to transfer heat from the air along with electrical energy to a high-temperature environment. Specifically, the heat pump system compresses the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant gas into a high-temperature and high-pressure gas through a compressor, then releases heat through the condenser, transferring heat to the water or air that needs to be heated, and finally the refrigerant is depressurized and cooled through a throttling device, returning to the evaporator to continue absorbing heat from the air, completing a cycle.
The air-source heat pump industry in China started relatively late but has significantly improved the industry environment since 2008 with strong national policy support. The implementation of the "coal-to-electricity" policy in 2016 became a turning point for the industry's development, especially with its rapid promotion in many provinces and cities in the north, making air-source heat pumps widely used as an alternative to coal-fired heating. However, with the intensification of market competition, the industry also faces certain challenges, such as the competitiveness of core technologies and the continuous demand for technological innovation.
The competitive landscape of the air-source heat pump industry is diverse, involving not only leading enterprises in the traditional HVAC industry but also companies focusing on the research and development and production of air-source heat pumps. For example, Midea Group has increased its investment in research and development in the field of air-source heat pumps and has successfully completed the "Broad Temperature Range High-Efficiency Energy-Saving Air-Source Heat Pump Heating Key Technology and Industrialization" project, which won an award from the China Inventors Association. In addition, Finike, as a company focusing on commercial air energy heat pumps, provides a series of high-performance heat pump products that are widely used in commercial and industrial fields.
In the future, the air-source heat pump industry is expected to continue to develop in a green and low-carbon direction, and the diversification of market demand will drive product innovation and upgrades. Technological innovation, green and low-carbon development, and product innovation will become the main trends in the industry's development.