HVAC and BAS study: Comparable trends between small and large firms

More than half of respondents (58%) to the Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2014 HVAC and Building Automation Systems Study work at a firm with less than 100 employees, compared to 41% with 100 or more employees. Below are a few key comparisons between small and large firms that specify heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), and building automation systems (BAS):

1. Annual revenue: Firms with less than 100 employees specify an average of $2.24 million of HVAC and BAS products on a yearly basis, compared to $3.84 million by larger firms.

2. Project size: The largest projects based on average billings are demand-controlled ventilation, energy recovery, and metering/sub-metering and M&V strategies. Smaller firms generate an average of $1.14 million, $1.26 million, and $1.27 million (respectively), while larger firms’ projects average $1.83 million, $1.96 million, and $1.97 million (respectively).

3. BAS changes: Forty percent of respondents from any sized firm have observed changes in the budget/cost of BAS projects or products specified in the past 12 months. Smaller firms have seen a greater demand for interoperability in this time frame, and 53% of larger firms have observed changes to integration of these systems.

4. Future challenges: Despite firm and project size, both data sets identified two critical challenges to the future of HVAC design—energy efficiency and inadequate budget for good design—and two challenges to BAS design—interoperability/complementing systems and inadequate budget for good design.

View additional findings at

Amanda Pelliccione is research director for Consulting-Specifying Engineer, CFE

Do you have experience and expertise with the topics mentioned in this content? You should consider contributing to our WTWH Media editorial team and getting the recognition you and your company deserve. Click here to start this process.