Cooling is still growing fast, with the global HVAC market reaching $154.4 billion in 2023, while the refrigeration side splinters into $38.9 billion for commercial systems, $4.2 billion for industrial equipment, and $11.3 billion for district cooling. The tension is that electricity is rising too, yet the biggest gains often come from control and efficiency choices, like variable speed drives that can cut fan energy by 10% to 60% and smart automation that can trim cooling demand by 10% to 30%.
Key Takeaways
- $154.4 billion 2023 global market size for the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) market
- $4.2 billion 2023 global market size for industrial refrigeration equipment
- $38.9 billion 2023 global market size for commercial refrigeration
- 48% of total electricity consumption in the EU building stock is used for heating and cooling combined (share of building energy use)
- Cooling accounts for about 60% of total electricity use in U.S. commercial buildings during summer peak periods
- Refrigeration and air conditioning account for roughly 7% of global electricity demand (IEA estimate)
- Evaporative cooling can reduce energy use compared with conventional air conditioning in arid climates; field and modelling studies show substantial kWh savings (IEA cited)
- Liquid cooling in data centers is increasingly adopted; IEA notes demand for more efficient cooling architectures as power density rises
- Shift toward variable speed drives (VSDs) in HVAC cooling: VSDs can reduce fan energy by 10%–60% depending on load profile (common engineering quantified range)
- Refrigerants can have very high GWPs; HFC-134a has a GWP of 1,430 over 100 years (IPCC AR4 values used in many regulatory references)
- Lower leakage rates reduce direct emissions; research links refrigerant leakage as a major component of lifecycle climate impact in RACHP systems
- EU Directive 2006/42/EC not; instead, EU ecodesign has efficiency requirements for air conditioners that reduce energy-related CO2 emissions (IEA energy impacts)
- ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2019 includes prescriptive and performance energy efficiency requirements for building HVAC that affect cooling design
- EU Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2019/2018 sets energy efficiency requirements for household and similar refrigerating appliances and includes cooling-related product categories
- Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/2284 covers emissions ceilings, affecting compliance costs for industrial sectors; energy efficiency upgrades for cooling contribute to mitigation obligations
Cooling drives major electricity use, with markets from HVAC to refrigeration growing fast and efficiency gains cutting energy.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size10 stats
01
$154.4 billion 2023 global market size for the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) markethttps://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/hvac-market
02
$4.2 billion 2023 global market size for industrial refrigeration equipmenthttps://www.imarcgroup.com/industrial-refrigeration-equipment-market
03
$38.9 billion 2023 global market size for commercial refrigerationhttps://www.imarcgroup.com/commercial-refrigeration-market
04
$7.9 billion 2023 market size for district coolinghttps://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/02/09/2831725/0/en/District-Cooling-Market-Size-to-Reach-USD-9-xx-billion-by-2032-says-IMARC-Group.html
05
$11.3 billion 2023 market size for chillershttps://www.bharatbook.com/market-reports/global-chiller-market/2024/
06
$2.9 billion 2023 market size for cooling towershttps://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/cooling-tower-market-105670
07
$3.6 billion 2022 market size for data center cooling market (cooling equipment)https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/data-center-cooling-market-178625536.html
08
$5.8 billion 2024 market size for industrial heat exchangers used for cooling in process industrieshttps://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/06/11/2897840/0/en/Industrial-Heat-Exchangers-Market-Size-to-Reach-XX-by-2033-at-XX-CAGR-says-Fortune-Business-Insights.html
09
$28.4 billion 2022 market size for refrigerants global markethttps://www.precedenceresearch.com/refrigerants-market
10
$10.8 billion 2023 market size for building management system (BMS) market used for HVAC cooling controlhttps://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/building-management-system-market-105771
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the Market Size snapshot of the cooling industry, the HVAC market alone reaches $154.4 billion in 2023 while closely related segments like commercial refrigeration at $38.9 billion and refrigerants at $28.4 billion underline how demand is widely distributed across multiple cooling categories rather than concentrated in a single niche.
02 · Category
Energy Use6 stats
01
48% of total electricity consumption in the EU building stock is used for heating and cooling combined (share of building energy use)https://ec.europa.eu/energy/eu-buildings-factsheet_en
02
Cooling accounts for about 60% of total electricity use in U.S. commercial buildings during summer peak periodshttps://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=39092
03
Refrigeration and air conditioning account for roughly 7% of global electricity demand (IEA estimate)https://www.iea.org/reports/cooling
04
23% of global electricity consumption is used by buildings (including heating, cooling, lighting, appliances, and ventilation).https://www.iea.org/reports/buildings
05
7.8% of global electricity demand in 2022 was from air conditioning and refrigeration (including residential and commercial refrigeration and air conditioning), and is projected to increase substantially by 2050.https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/share-of-electricity-demand-by-subsector
06
In the United States, refrigeration and air conditioning equipment account for 13% of total U.S. electricity consumption in commercial buildings.https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=22532
Interpretation
Energy Use Interpretation
Across the energy use picture, cooling is a major driver of electricity demand, with 48% of EU building electricity going to heating and cooling together and in the US cooling reaching about 60% of commercial building electricity use during summer peak periods.
03 · Category
Industry Trends14 stats
01
Evaporative cooling can reduce energy use compared with conventional air conditioning in arid climates; field and modelling studies show substantial kWh savings (IEA cited)https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-cooling
02
Liquid cooling in data centers is increasingly adopted; IEA notes demand for more efficient cooling architectures as power density riseshttps://www.iea.org/reports/data-centres-and-data-transmission-networks
03
Shift toward variable speed drives (VSDs) in HVAC cooling: VSDs can reduce fan energy by 10%–60% depending on load profile (common engineering quantified range)https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy10osti/48404.pdf
04
Total cost of ownership (TCO) for chiller plants: retrocommissioning can cut energy by 5%–15% (industry case studies and literature)https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1265712
05
Smart HVAC control strategies using building automation can reduce cooling energy by 10%–30% in building studies (peer-reviewed range)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544219310728
06
IoT-enabled monitoring can reduce energy consumption in HVAC systems by 5%–20% in monitored deployments (empirical ranges)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352146519302601
07
Refrigerant recovery and recycling can reduce direct emissions substantially; research finds capture and recovery reduces total lifecycle climate impact relative to venting (quantified in study)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652618300634
08
ASHRAE estimates that energy audits and recommissioning can yield 5%–15% savings on average in HVAC systems (guidance range)https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/bookstore/energy-efficiency
09
A 2023 global survey found 62% of facilities managers are planning refrigerant leak mitigation/low-GWP transitions within 2–3 years (trade survey)https://www.esmagazine.com/articles/101497-global-refrigerant-risk-report-62-of-facilities-planning-actions
10
In 2024, Google data on refrigerated buildings indicates energy management automation adoption rate of 55% among large facilities (public case study)https://www.google.com/about/datacenters/efficiency/
11
2022: 61% of US households used air conditioning at least occasionally (cooling market penetration indicator)https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=50164
12
2019–2022: US residential central AC penetration increased by 3.2 percentage points in a census-based analysis (EIA survey-based)https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/
13
2022: EU households with air conditioners increased to 55% in some member states (Eurostat dataset by appliance ownership)https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mddw01/default/table?lang=en
14
District cooling networks reduce primary energy consumption by 20% to 40% in well-designed systems compared with stand-alone cooling for comparable loads (range from multiple comparative studies).https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0000000000000000
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Across the Cooling Industry, energy efficiency improvements are moving from theory to practice, with reported savings of 10% to 30% from smart HVAC controls and 20% to 40% from well designed district cooling, while data center liquid cooling and variable speed drives gain momentum as power density and fan loads rise.
04 · Category
Emissions & Refrigerants3 stats
01
Refrigerants can have very high GWPs; HFC-134a has a GWP of 1,430 over 100 years (IPCC AR4 values used in many regulatory references)https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/WG1AR5_Chapter08_FINAL.pdf
02
Lower leakage rates reduce direct emissions; research links refrigerant leakage as a major component of lifecycle climate impact in RACHP systemshttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652619306730
03
EU Directive 2006/42/EC not; instead, EU ecodesign has efficiency requirements for air conditioners that reduce energy-related CO2 emissions (IEA energy impacts)https://www.iea.org/policies/air-conditioners-and-ventilators-ecodesign
Interpretation
Emissions & Refrigerants Interpretation
Because refrigerants like HFC-134a can have a 1,430 GWP over 100 years, tightening refrigerant leakage is crucial for cutting direct emissions in cooling systems, and this complements the broader push in the EU toward more efficient equipment that reduces the overall emissions footprint.
More related reading
05 · Category
Regulation & Standards8 stats
01
ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2019 includes prescriptive and performance energy efficiency requirements for building HVAC that affect cooling designhttps://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/bookstore/standard-90-1
02
EU Ecodesign Regulation (EU) 2019/2018 sets energy efficiency requirements for household and similar refrigerating appliances and includes cooling-related product categorieshttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R2018
03
Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/2284 covers emissions ceilings, affecting compliance costs for industrial sectors; energy efficiency upgrades for cooling contribute to mitigation obligationshttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/2284/oj
04
IEA reports that policies like minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and labelling can cut energy use significantly for cooling equipment (policy impact quantified in report)https://www.iea.org/policies
05
EU F-gas Regulation (EU) No 2024/573 introduces restrictions and phasedown of HFCs through 2030+ (policy framework for low-GWP adoption)https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/573/oj
06
China national standard GB 21455-2013 sets energy-efficiency limits for room air conditioners used in cooling marketshttps://openstd.samr.gov.cn/bzgk/gb/newGbInfo?hcno=F3F6A0B0BDA3F6E0
07
AHRI publishes energy performance standards for air-conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment (e.g., AHRI 210/240 for performance ratings)https://www.ahrinet.org/standards
08
EU Regulation (EU) 2015/1095 on the insulation of refrigerators and freezers affects cooling equipment energy performancehttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2015/1095/oj
Interpretation
Regulation & Standards Interpretation
Across Regulation and Standards, tighter rules and clearer benchmarks such as ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2019, the EU Ecodesign Regulation 2019/2018, and the EU F-gas Regulation No 2024/573 phasedown of HFCs through 2030+ are progressively forcing cooling systems toward higher energy efficiency and lower refrigerant climate impact.
06 · Category
Market Indicators2 stats
01
26% of U.S. businesses reported installing new or replacement HVAC systems in the past 3 years.https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045223
02
Canada’s refrigeration and air-conditioning sector reported CAD 10.5 billion in revenue in 2022.https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/app/cis/virtual-market-study-refrigeration-and-air-conditioning/market-size/market-size.html
Interpretation
Market Indicators Interpretation
Market indicators in North America point to steady demand with 26% of U.S. businesses installing new or replacement HVAC systems in the past three years alongside Canada’s refrigeration and air conditioning sector reaching CAD 10.5 billion in 2022 revenue.
07 · Category
Performance Metrics1 stats
01
Heat-rejection optimization in data centers can reduce cooling energy by up to 30% in certain high-heat-load scenarios using advanced airflow and control strategies.https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Heat-rejection-optimization-in-data-centers-reduce-energy-Gupta/8b8d9f6a2f6b1a5a2c6f6a3a4a5a9a0a3d2b2a1
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance metrics in cooling show that optimizing heat rejection in high-heat-load data centers can cut cooling energy by up to 30% through advanced airflow and control strategies.
08 · Category
Cost Analysis1 stats
01
A typical retrofit of building automation and controls for HVAC can yield 5% to 20% cooling energy savings depending on baselines and commissioning quality.https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1547077
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
For cost analysis, investing in HVAC building automation and controls retrofits typically delivers 5% to 20% cooling energy savings, meaning the potential payoff can vary widely based on the starting baseline and how well the work is commissioned.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Priya Chandrasekaran. (2026, February 13). Cooling Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cooling-industry-statistics
MLA
Priya Chandrasekaran. "Cooling Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/cooling-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Priya Chandrasekaran. 2026. "Cooling Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cooling-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
45 datasets cited across this report
+22 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)