Chillventa country report: ITALY
- Italy: Land of air conditioning
- Wholesale trade “all’italiana”
- Craft trade and legislation
- Heat pumps on the advance
The refrigeration and air conditioning market in Italy has strong sales growth to show. 13.4 % more units were sold and 22.2 % more turnover achieved in 2007 compared with the previous year. One special regional feature of the Italian market is that the trade in refrigeration and air conditioning systems is spread between many regional distributors. The companies are also represented by many smaller associations and no dominating federation exists. Decree no. 147 based on an EU regulation and the now stipulated “Libretto d´impianto” (plant log) caused a major uproar in 2006. Keeping logs had only been usual for larger plants until then. Many operators of smaller plants therefore had to adjust to new conditions.
Italy: Land of air conditioning
The Italian Association of Manufacturers of Air Conditioning and Ventilation Equipment Co.AER (Associazione construttori di apparecchiature ed impianti aeraulici) published its latest statistics for 2007 in March. Altogether 62 companies took part in the survey, which represent between 50 and 95 % of the Italian market depending on product group.
2007 was basically a positive year for Italian air conditioning and ventilation. 13.4% more units were sold and 22.2 % more turnover achieved compared with 2006. Although the production figures of the Italian companies actually dropped overall by 1.4 %, the turnover here also rose by 13.4 %. There are distinct differences between the various product categories, especially between split and multisplit units and chillers.
The statistics reflect the structure of the Italian refrigeration and air conditioning industry. Monosplit and multisplit units are mainly imported, whereas chillers in all power ranges are largely produced in Italy. Most of the imports are from Asia (58 %), followed by Europe with 39 %. Domestic chiller production is mainly concentrated in the north and northeast of Italy.
Altogether 44 companies took part in the survey on split and multisplit units, which equates to over 90 % of the Italian market. Almost the entire demand for monosplit units is covered by imports. Since the explosion-like rise of imports in 2004 attributed to the heat wave in 2003, the market has been marked by healthy growth – some 16 % (referred to turnover) in 2007 compared with the previous year. The development is similar for multisplit units. A large part of these goods sold in Italy are imported, with the over 30 % growth in 2007 being much higher than for monosplits. The bulk of the imported units are intended for the Italian market. Of the total of some 1.9 million imported split units, a good half are equipped with inverters and almost all of them are reversible units for heating and cooling. Similar results to 2007 are expected for 2008, with a clear connection between the sales figures and the weather and temperatures in the summer.
The picture is different for chillers, which are produced mainly in Italy. The results here are also representative for the Italian market with 33 companies involved for air-cooled chillers and 22 companies for water-cooled chillers. In the air-cooled chiller segment, domestic production remained largely unchanged with a clear rise in the power ranges above 350 kW. Exports also increased most strongly in these ranges, as well as in the power ranges between 101 and 350 kW. Water-cooled chillers in the power ranges up to 100 kW also originate mainly from Italy, whereas distinctly increased imports are registered for power ranges above 100 kW. Exports of units produced in Italy also rose strongly, especially for units above 350 kW, which achieved over 30 % growth in 2007 compared with the previous year.
Wholesale trade “all’italiana”
In contrast to many other countries in Europe, the wholesale trade in Italy is organized by many smaller regional distributors, from which fitters can buy their components direct over the counter. This also applies to the sale of refrigerants. Here there are three gas traders that largely dominate the market, but do not sell direct to the fitters, rather to the distributors. For the manufacturers, whether of components or gases, this not only means a certain remoteness from the craft trade, but also from the end customer, the operator, who is not known in many cases.
Craft trade and legislation
Decree no. 147, which is based on EU Regulation 2037/2000, took effect in Italy on 15.2.2006. As foreseen in the regulation, it is aimed at achieving regular leakage tests, improvements in the training and expertise of plant assemblers and greater involvement of operators. However, the greatest uproar in Italy was caused by the so-called “Libretto d’impianto”, the plant log, which the decree made obligatory. Whereas larger firms had already kept logs in the past, this was more the exception in small craft firms and therefore now raises numerous questions about content and form. Various wholesalers see this as a chance to raise their turnover and offer ready-printed logs the plant assembler only needs to fill in.
Basically, Italy’s refrigeration plant assembly trade is less well organized than in other European countries. There is no officially recognized national association to represent the interests of the industry, but various organizations, including many at regional level. The largest of these are probably Assofreddo (www.assofreddo.org), Assofrigoristi (www.assofrigoristi.it) and Associazione Tecnici del Freddo (www.associazioneatf.org), but these also only represent a fraction of the Italian craft trade firms. This also complicates the implementation of the legislation in a way, as this situation makes the flow of information more difficult and tedious. Training to become a refrigeration plant assembler is also not clearly defined in Italy. There are various schools in which relevant basic and continuation training courses are offered, for example, the Centro Studi Galileo near Milan, but these are nowhere near sufficient to meet the requirement and demand. This also makes the implementation of EU Regulation 2037/2000 and 842/2006 more difficult.
Heat pumps on the advance
Italy is basically dependent on imports for 84 % of its energy, 50 % of which comes from France alone. Air conditioning plays an increasingly important role, whether in private households or in the industrial sector, so electricity consumption is rising as well. Heat pumps are therefore considered a promising solution, as they can be used for both heating and cooling in view of the Mediterranean climate that prevails in Italy. For this reason, a new association has now been set up as part of Co.AER, the Italian Heat Pumps Association, which represents the interests of the industry, promotes research projects and developments and is also a member of the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA).
Heat pumps are also promoted by the Italian government. Law no. 244 on highly efficient heat pumps has been in force since 24.12.2007, under which 55 % of the costs can be deducted direct from tax. This also includes costs associated with the replacement of existing plants with highly efficient heat pumps.
Contact for press and media:
Petra Wolf, Isabelle Wagner
Tel +49 (0) 9 11. 86 06-86 46
Fax +49 (0) 9 11. 86 06-86 40
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