By Aline Breslauer, Senior market analyst, BSRIA WMI
According to the latest analysis carried out by BSRIA, the market of traditional water heating units worldwide was valued at US$20.4bn (€18.2bn) in 2019 for a volume of sales close to 101 million units. Despite numbers of challenges faced by the industry, suppliers have managed to maintain their sales at the same level as in 2018.
Electric Water Heaters – both storage and instantaneous – remained the most common types of units sold across the globe and hold 64% of the market size in 2019. Electrically driven devices are cheap units to supply sanitary hot water on demand and good alternatives outside of the gas mains. Americas and Asia drove 84% of the global EWH market with sales to these regions estimated to amount to US$4.8bn in 2019.
Europe is another hot spot for electric water heaters – predominantly electric storage type. The sales in the region were estimated at almost US$1.5bn in 2019 (+1.5% by volume from 2018) with Russia, France and Italy topping the European market. While low-end products still drive a large share of the market, more advanced units with smart controls and remote management systems have started to appear on suppliers’ catalogues and on the shelves of wholesalers. The demand is reported to be limited for the time being, but the potential is likely to increase in the long run as the technology offers an innovative way to balance the supply and demand of electricity and to reduce energy bills at the same time.
Regional Water Heating Market Key Facts, 2019, Value (US$ bn) & Volume Growth (%) from 2018