--- title: Three trends in HVAC today, but which trends are missing? description: I am John and I am working with the digitalisation of the HVAC industry, which is why my trend spotting is skewed toward that area. image: https://blog.swegon.com/hubfs/hero_image_john_v20-v5.jpg --- [![](https://www.swegon.com/Static/img/logo.svg?v=3)](https://www.swegon.com/) Menu - [Solutions & services](https://www.swegon.com/solutions-and-services/) - [Products](https://www.swegon.com/products/) - [References & Insights](https://www.swegon.com/references-and-insights/) - [Support & software](https://www.swegon.com/support/) - [Sustainability](https://www.swegon.com/sustainability/) - [Why Swegon?](https://www.swegon.com/why-swegon/) - [Product Search](https://www.swegon.com/product-search-result/) - [Document Search](https://www.swegon.com/support/find-documents/) - [Career](https://www.swegon.com/career/) - Global - [Contact](https://www.swegon.com/contact/) ## Choose a market [Or visit our global site](https://www.swegon.com) - [Belgium - French](https://www.swegon.com/fr-be/) - [Belgium - Dutch](https://www.swegon.com/nl-be/) - [Denmark](https://www.swegon.com/da/) - [Finland](https://www.swegon.com/fi/) - [France](https://www.swegon.com/fr/) - [Italy](https://www.swegon.com/it/) - [Germany](https://www.swegon.com/de/) - [Norway](https://www.swegon.com/no/) - [Poland](https://www.swegon.com/pl/) - [Spain](https://www.swegon.com/es/) - [Sweden](https://www.swegon.com/sv/) - [Switzerland - German](https://www.swegon.com/de-ch/) - [Switzerland - French](https://www.swegon.com/fr-ch/) - [Switzerland - Italian](https://www.swegon.com/it-ch/) - [United Kingdom](https://www.swegon.com/uk/) - [United States](https://www.swegonnorthamerica.com) - [Canada](http://swegonnorthamerica.com/) Explore ## Filter articles ### By topics - [Indoor Climate Knowledge (56)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/indoor-climate-knowledge) - [Cooling & Heating (27)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/cooling-heating) - [Energy Efficiency (24)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/energy-efficiency) - [Sustainability (23)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/sustainability) - [Air Handling Units (22)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/air-handling-units) - [Room Units (19)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/room-units) - [Heat Pumps (12)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/heat-pumps) - [Acoustics (9)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/acoustics) - [Optimisation Systems (9)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/optimisation-systems) - [Humidity (7)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/humidity) - [Renovation (7)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/renovation) - [Services & Connectivity (7)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/services-connectivity) - [Knowledge (5)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/knowledge) - [Schools (4)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/schools) - [Software (4)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/software) - [Air Quality (3)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/air-quality) - [BIM (3)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/bim) - [Gender Equality (3)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/gender-equality) > Fler ### By authors - [![Alberto Ferrandi](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Bild%20alberto.png?width=75&name=Bild%20alberto.png) Alberto Ferrandi 6](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/alberto-ferrandi) - [![Alberto Frison](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/alberto.jpg?width=75&name=alberto.jpg) Alberto Frison 2](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/alberto-frison) - [![Alessandro Lora](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/lora.webp?width=75&name=lora.webp) Alessandro Lora 3](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/alessandro-lora) - [![Alessandro Pinato](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/alessandro.webp?width=75&name=alessandro.webp) Alessandro Pinato 9](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/alessandro-pinato) - [![Anders Jakobsson](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/andersj.png?width=75&name=andersj.png) Anders Jakobsson 3](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/anders-jakobsson) - [![Andreas Söderholm](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/andreassoderholm.webp?width=75&name=andreassoderholm.webp) Andreas Söderholm 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/andreas-söderholm) - [![Andreas Örje Wellstam](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/andreas-orje-wellstam.webp?width=75&name=andreas-orje-wellstam.webp) Andreas Örje Wellstam 5](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/andreas-örje-wellstam) - [![Anna Sundell](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Anna.jpg?width=75&name=Anna.jpg) Anna Sundell 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/anna-sundell) - [![Bastien Stocq](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Bastien.png?width=75&name=Bastien.png) Bastien Stocq 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/bastien-stocq) - [![Björn Erlingsson](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/bjornerling.png?width=75&name=bjornerling.png) Björn Erlingsson 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/björn-erlingsson) - [![Börje Lehrman](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Authors/SE-SV%20-%20PRO%20-%20BACV/B%C3%B6rje_Lehrman.jpg?width=75&name=B%C3%B6rje_Lehrman.jpg) Börje Lehrman 3](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/börje-lehrman) - [![Carl-Johan Strömwall](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/sigvardsson_220628_0008_small_webb%20(1).jpg?width=75&name=sigvardsson_220628_0008_small_webb%20(1).jpg) Carl-Johan Strömwall 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/carl-johan-strömwall) - [![Caroline Jacobsson](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Authors/Caroline%20Jacobsson.jpg?width=75&name=Caroline%20Jacobsson.jpg) Caroline Jacobsson 15](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/caroline-jacobsson) - [![Elvis Kokot](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/elviskokot.png?width=75&name=elviskokot.png) Elvis Kokot 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/elvis-kokot) - [![Fabio Polo](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Fabio%20Polo-1.jpg?width=75&name=Fabio%20Polo-1.jpg) Fabio Polo 9](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/fabio-polo) - [![Francesco Artusi](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Francesco%20Artusi%20CUT.jpg?width=75&name=Francesco%20Artusi%20CUT.jpg) Francesco Artusi 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/francesco-artusi) - [![François Jouvray](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/francois%20Jouvray2.jpg?width=75&name=francois%20Jouvray2.jpg) François Jouvray 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/françois-jouvray) - [![Jan Scheuring](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Photo_Jan-1.jpeg?width=75&name=Photo_Jan-1.jpeg) Jan Scheuring 2](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/jan-scheuring) - [![John Wibrand](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/John%20Wibrand.jpg?width=75&name=John%20Wibrand.jpg) John Wibrand 2](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/john-wibrand) - [![Josh Emerson](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Josh_Emerson_Headshot.jpg?width=75&name=Josh_Emerson_Headshot.jpg) Josh Emerson 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/josh-emerson) - [![Luca Filippetto](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Luca%20Filippetto%20Hubspot.jpg?width=75&name=Luca%20Filippetto%20Hubspot.jpg) Luca Filippetto 4](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/luca-filippetto) - [![Luca Zordan](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/lucazordan.png?width=75&name=lucazordan.png) Luca Zordan 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/luca-zordan) - [![Magnus Andersson](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/magnus%20andersson_550x550%20(1).jpg?width=75&name=magnus%20andersson_550x550%20(1).jpg) Magnus Andersson 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/magnus-andersson) - [![Malin Höij](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/malinh.webp?width=75&name=malinh.webp) Malin Höij 5](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/malin-höij) - [![Markus Schomaker](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Dr.-Ing.%20Markus%20Schomaker_Quadratisch.jpg?width=75&name=Dr.-Ing.%20Markus%20Schomaker_Quadratisch.jpg) Markus Schomaker 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/markus) - [![Martin Ottersten](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Authors/Martin_Ottersten.jpg?width=75&name=Martin_Ottersten.jpg) Martin Ottersten 4](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/martin-ottersten) - [![Mike Ward](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Michael_Ward_photo.jpg?width=75&name=Michael_Ward_photo.jpg) Mike Ward 5](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/michael-ward) - [![Mikael Börjesson](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Authors/Mikael%20B%C3%B6rjesson.jpg?width=75&name=Mikael%20B%C3%B6rjesson.jpg) Mikael Börjesson 30](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/mikael-börjesson) - [![Mirko Sauvan](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Swegon_Mirko%20Sauvan_web_3.jpg?width=75&name=Swegon_Mirko%20Sauvan_web_3.jpg) Mirko Sauvan 2](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/mirko-sauvan-1) - [![Niklas Jacobsson](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/authorniklas.png?width=75&name=authorniklas.png) Niklas Jacobsson 2](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/niklas-jacobsson) - [![Paola Moschini](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/forfattare.webp?width=75&name=forfattare.webp) Paola Moschini 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/paola-moschini) - [![Philip Andersson](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Philip_Andersson_pressbild_small_webb.jpg?width=75&name=Philip_Andersson_pressbild_small_webb.jpg) Philip Andersson 2](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/philip-andersson) - [![Robert Siverby](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/MicrosoftTeams-image%20(3)-4.png?width=75&name=MicrosoftTeams-image%20(3)-4.png) Robert Siverby 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/robert-siverby) - [![Stefan Lay](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/1517033472060.jpg?width=75&name=1517033472060.jpg) Stefan Lay 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/stefan-lay) - [![Swegon](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/swegsw-1.png?width=75&name=swegsw-1.png) Swegon 3](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/swegon) - [![Timo Schreck](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Timo%20Schreck.jpg?width=75&name=Timo%20Schreck.jpg) Timo Schreck 2](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/timo-schreck) - [![Tobias Nordström](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TobiasNordstromPHOTO.jpg?width=75&name=TobiasNordstromPHOTO.jpg) Tobias Nordström 5](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/tobias-nordström) - [![Tomi Laakso](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Authors/TomiLaakso.jpg?width=75&name=TomiLaakso.jpg) Tomi Laakso 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/tomi-laakso) - [![Tony Olsson](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Tony%20Olsson.webp?width=75&name=Tony%20Olsson.webp) Tony Olsson 6](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/tony-olsson) - [![Tony Pettersson](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/tonyp.jpg?width=75&name=tonyp.jpg) Tony Pettersson 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/tony-pettersson) - [![Ulf Hörman](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20Authors/Ulf%20H%C3%B6rman.jpg?width=75&name=Ulf%20H%C3%B6rman.jpg) Ulf Hörman 1](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/ulf-hörman) - [![Welat Han](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Welat%20Han.jpg?width=75&name=Welat%20Han.jpg) Welat Han 3](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/welat-han) - [![William Lawrance](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/William_lawrance.jpg?width=75&name=William_lawrance.jpg) William Lawrance 12](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/william-lawrance) - [![Åsa Norén-Lundh](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/A%CC%8Asa%20Nore%CC%81n-Lundh.webp?width=75&name=A%CC%8Asa%20Nore%CC%81n-Lundh.webp) Åsa Norén-Lundh 6](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/åsa-norén-lundh) Explore - - - [The Swegon Blog](https://blog.swegon.com/en?hsLang=en) Subscribe Share - - - Explore Share Subscribe [« go back](https://blog.swegon.com/en) # Three trends in HVAC today, but which trends are missing? [John Wibrand](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/john-wibrand) 5/17/23, 8:00 AM The first thing when writing a piece on trends within the field of HVAC is obviously to ask ChatGPT, which is a trend in itself. I am quite sure though, that we all already know that energy efficiency, air quality, and smart systems are important, so that does not give a big help really. The trends generated by ChatGPT are, as everything it generates, basically based on a slightly old, well curated version of the internet. Any reasoning of trends is based on a concoction of existing documents. Although everything it says, it says with a very high confidence and convincing language, so it is easy to put high trust in it.   I am John and I am working with the digitalisation of the HVAC industry, which is why my trend spotting is skewed toward that area. The three most apparent trends I see, in no particular order, are: **Data aggregation**. For a multitude of reasons, many property owners want to gather all possible data from equipment in the building, in one place. For many years products have existed in silos but by bringing all data together, new insights can be drawn. If the collected data is of the right quality, it can also be successfully used for other than its original purpose. For instance, duplicates of sensors can be avoided, thus lowering the embodied carbon in the building. Machine learning algorithms can be applied to the data set in order to optimize building performance. Some want to leverage the cloud for the aggregation of data and some feel the data should stay in the building, different approaches but same drivers. The aggregation of building data makes it easier to compare different building´s performance, and best practices can be spread to poorer performing buildings. However, the vast number of different product features and system functions can make comparison tough. This leads to the second trend. **Simplification**. HVAC equipment has more functionality than the Antarctic Ocean has krill, and that is a lot. Different consultants have seen a need for different ways of solving the same things, and manufacturers have been quick to see a competitive advantage in having functionality that no one else has, but I hear more and more people looking for simpler solutions, one reason being that they want to be able to compare functionality and also to add a higher level of logic on top of the equipment, and if equipment from different manufactures vary a lot, this becomes harder. Property owners are also looking at the residential smart home ecosystems where the fairly new communication standard Matter, which allows many different products to interact, is gaining traction. For these kinds of ecosystems to work smoothly, products expose which features they have, interchangeability is possible and if products share the same functionality, which drives conformity and simplicity. Rather than competing on the number of functionalities, products might compete on how easy they are to interact with, and how good members of an ecosystem they are. One of the sought-after functionalities in buildings is the following trend. **Demand response**. High electricity prices have accelerated the benefit of being able to control your electrical equipment according to hourly rates. New regulations will move from hourly rates to 15-minute rates, in some cases with penalties for exceeding a certain level, which is making this even more interesting. Depending on the heating system HVAC equipment, it can be in the magnitude of 80% of a building´s power consumption, making it a great candidate for peak shaving. Lowering the fan power in air handling units or turning off an electrical heater, can quickly lower the electricity consumption. Of course, this can have an effect on the indoor environmental quality, but can be handled if done correctly. Sometimes there is an excess of electricity and one can even get paid for consuming a bit more. Functionality like this helps in stabilizing the electrical grid, lowers the electricity rates, and is quite cool. There are for sure many other trends to pick up on, but I do lack some trends that I would like to see happen. Such as a greater focus on the HVAC operation cost per person, rather than only looking at the cost per square meter. I have heard of cases where the cooling power has been considered too high per square meter due to the office being densely populated (more people, higher heat load), but if the cost per person was advised, it is not so high. A bigger space with the same power consumption and amount of people would not be more sustainable, rather the opposite. I would like to see many new buildings that are very energy efficient. It would be exciting to compare the actual performance of a building towards a theoretical best, rather than an arbitrary power per square meter. There must be a theoretical minimum energy required to ventilate, heat, and cool all kinds of buildings, and it would be interesting to compare the real case against that. Well, perhaps a bit hypothetical and nerdy. In a year from now, there is a chance that excerpts of this trendspotting will turn up in an answer given by ChatGPT, but certainly with much more confidence and convincing language. For more information on the topic of digitalisation, buildings and HVAC, [visit our guide](https://www.swegon.com/knowledge-hub/technical-guides/smart-buildings/). Topics: - [Indoor Climate Knowledge](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/indoor-climate-knowledge) - [Services & Connectivity](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/services-connectivity) - - - [![John Wibrand](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/John%20Wibrand.jpg?width=200&name=John%20Wibrand.jpg)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/john-wibrand) [John Wibrand](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/john-wibrand) John Wibrand is HVAC Digital Director at Swegon. John has a strong belief that increased digitalisation and product connectivity is one of the best ways forward for Swegon to help customers lower their lifecycle costs, increase IEQ and folr them to run buildings in a more sustainable way. ## Recommended reading - [Indoor Climate Knowledge](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/indoor-climate-knowledge) - [Sustainability](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/sustainability) ### [Caroline Jacobsson](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/caroline-jacobsson) ## [Circularity: from pilots to industrial scale](https://blog.swegon.com/en/circularity-from-pilots-to-industrial-scale?hsLang=en) In previous blog posts (links below), it has been highlighted why … - [Air Handling Units](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/air-handling-units) - [Indoor Climate Knowledge](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/indoor-climate-knowledge) ### [Bastien Stocq](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/bastien-stocq) ## [Things to consider when choosing an AHU for small premises](https://blog.swegon.com/en/things-to-consider-when-choosing-ahus-for-smaller-premises?hsLang=en) When choosing an air handling unit (AHU) for smaller premises, such … - [Indoor Climate Knowledge](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/indoor-climate-knowledge) - [Sustainability](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/sustainability) - [Heat Pumps](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/heat-pumps) ### [Luca Filippetto](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/luca-filippetto) ## [Heat Pumps: Key for Zero-emission buildings (ZEB)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/heat-pumps-key-for-zero-emission-buildings-zeb?hsLang=en) There is a growing and unified understanding that the building sector … Get updates from the blog directly to your inbox. #### Get to know us - [Why Swegon?](https://www.swegon.com/why-swegon/) - [Solutions & services](https://www.swegon.com/solutions-and-services/) - [Products](https://www.swegon.com/products/) - [References & Insights](https://www.swegon.com/references-and-insights/) - [Support & Software](https://www.swegon.com/support/) - [Sustainability](https://www.swegon.com/sustainability/) #### More Swegon - [About us](https://www.swegon.com/about-swegon/) - [Our Brands](https://www.swegon.com/about-swegon/our-brands/) - [News](https://blog.swegon.com/en/news?hsLang=en) - [For suppliers](https://www.swegon.com/for-suppliers/) - [The Swegon Blog](https://blog.swegon.com/en) - [Swegon Air Academy](https://www.swegonairacademy.com/en/) #### Subscribe to The Swegon Blog [![](https://www.swegon.com/siteassets/logos/logo.svg?v=1620107735)](https://www.swegon.com/) Swegon Group AB, JA Wettergrens gata 7, SE-421 30 Västra Frölunda, Tel +46 (0)31-89 58 00, Fax +46 (0)31-89 94 69, info@swegon.com - [Privacy statement](https://www.swegon.com/privacy-policy/) - [Cookies](https://www.swegon.com/cookies/) - [Processing personal data](https://www.swegon.com/privacy-policy/processing-personal-data/) - [![Youtube](https://www.swegon.com/Static/img/youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/user/SwegonAB) - [![Linkedin](https://www.swegon.com/Static/img/linkedin.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/swegon-ab/) - [![Facebook](https://www.swegon.com/Static/img/facebook.svg)](https://www.facebook.com/swegongroup)