China's smart water heater business alliance established

On April 28th, the “China Smart Water Heater Summit” organized by the China National Grid and the Information Resources Development Department of the National Information Center was held in Beijing. The forum was held on the theme of “Swimming with the Heart” to enjoy the wisdom The China Smart Water Heater Enterprise Consortium formed by Midea, Haier, AO Smith, Siemens, Wanhe, Wanjiale, Ariston, Gemeiqi, Sakura, Jingdong and other manufacturers and retailers was established. Through the establishment of the alliance, it aims to agglomerate the consensus and strength of the industry to jointly make a valuable contribution to the development of smart water heaters and promote the healthy and orderly development of China's smart water heater industry.

The share of smart water heaters has risen significantly from small rivers and bathtubs to traditional water heaters, to smart water heaters, and the product structure of the water heater industry is undergoing profound changes. Every new bathing method has greatly improved people's quality of life, especially from traditional water heaters to smart water heaters, and witnessed major technological advances in China's water heater industry.

The “2014 China Water Heater Market Research Report” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”) which was published at the forum in the same period includes only electric water heaters and gas water heaters. The market share of smart water heaters has increased significantly in the past year, 2013. The annual sales of smart water heaters accounted for 3.6% of the total, and sales volume in the first quarter of 2014 reached 4.12%.

China National Grid Editor-in-Chief Lu Shenghua believes that the increase in sales of smart water heaters is obviously closely related to consumer upgrades. Consumers are more concerned with comfort and convenience. In this process, the water heater company further optimized the product structure and highlighted the user experience, which not only guided the upgrading of water heater products, but also catered to the needs of consumer upgrades, thereby promoting the highlight of this market feature.

Among the representative companies, Midea, Haier, AO Smith, Siemens, Wanhe, Wanjiale, Ariston, Gemeiqi, Sakura and other brands have emerged in smart product innovation.

For example, the "HG5 Series Gas Water Heater" of the United States, which was first created in 2013, has provided "safe, smart" bathing experience for users with "upgrade, frequency conversion, anti-hot tips, and temperature sensing technology." The new products that will be on the market in 2014 are equipped with automatic segment switching technology, full-intelligent dual-modulation technology and O cold water technology, and also have a remote WIFI mode.

Haier electric water heater E9 renowned series of unique E-shift intelligent one-click selection bath scene function according to the user whether it is a small amount of domestic hot water, the amount of shower hot water, or bath water demand, automatically match the appropriate amount of heating water and Heating temperature, etc., automatically select the appropriate heating device, intelligent speed heat.

AO Smith launched the respected version of the Internet water heater, based on electric water heater WIFI smart Internet system, through the home wireless network and user mobile Internet, to achieve remote intelligent control of the water heater. The creation of this technology breaks through the design pattern of traditional water heaters and realizes a high-density control realm of artificial intelligence.

In addition, Wanhe and Wanjiale, two leading domestic brands in the gas water heater industry, have their products to meet the needs of consumers' "smart baths." Million and the latest S-class smart condensing gas water heater products - ST26, from smart, temperature comfort, energy saving and environmental protection and other aspects of common collaboration to meet consumer demand for comfortable hot water life. The MACRO smart bath series JSQ30-16QH3 has outstanding performance in terms of intelligence, comfort, energy saving and security, such as Macro2.0 smart operating system adopting MACRO's independent intellectual property rights, with bathtub, comfort, economy, kitchen treasure Hot water mode and intelligent monitoring of water temperature and water flow, ±0.5°C fine control thermostat, etc.

Siemens, Ariston, Gemeiqi, and Sakura, the key companies in the water heater industry, are also closely following the trend of product intelligence, and have their own differentiated innovative products on smart water heaters. Such as Siemens Speed ​​Water heater DG60145STI built-in "intelligent memory", tracking memory water habits, automatic preparation of heating procedures. ARTIST series electric water heaters from Ariston emphasize the "zero-wait" user experience. Sakura Q-Chi thermostat series gas water heater ± 0.5 °C intelligent temperature control technology, the main "baby-comfortable bath" user experience. Gemeiqi intelligent F/S water heater breaks the common slow rise of the electric water heater, the water temperature is not enough routine, integrated new dual-core heating pipe "Pentium core" heating technology, "capacity" technology, "diversion network" technology, upper and lower levels of dynamics Relay type layered heating control to maintain high temperature and small flow out of the water, so as to achieve the highest heating efficiency.

Slowing growth in sales growth Companies seize smart opportunities The active transformation and deployment of smart water heater products reflects the industry's close relationship with the macro economy and real estate market. What changes have taken place in the past year?

The "Report" shows that after the domestic water heater market broke free from the 2012 downturn, it achieved reversal growth in both volume and amount in 2013, with sales of 21.45 million units, an increase of 15.72% over the same period last year, and sales of 39.734 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 26.33%. %.

However, in 2014, the adverse aspects of the macro environment began to appear, and did not continue the rapid growth in 2013. In the first quarter of this year, the amount of water heaters and the amount fell. Data show that in the first quarter, domestic water heater sales were 5.0072 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 10.42%, and sales were 9.501 billion, down 10.23% year-on-year. The decline in sales reflected more apparent in the primary and secondary markets. The data showed that sales of water heaters in the tier-two and three-tier markets declined by 12.29%, 9.35%, and 6.12% respectively in the first quarter.

Analyzing the specific reasons, Cai Ying, deputy director of the Information Resource Development Department of the National Information Center, said that this category of water heaters is closely related to the performance of the real estate market. The shrinking real estate transaction volume is the direct cause of the industry's decline; in addition, the e-commerce is also responsible for the diversion of urban purchasing needs. One of the influencing factors. According to the monitoring data of Aowei Consulting, the sales volume of water heaters in e-commerce channels in the first quarter of 2014 was 507,600 units, accounting for approximately 9.1% of the total sales volume.

The reality faced by the water heater industry is that, on the one hand, industry sales growth will slow down significantly; on the other hand, the personality and interaction of consumer demand will lead to a profound change related to “intelligence” in the entire household appliance industry. From the initial television to the current air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, small appliances, etc., these traditional categories have been smartly winged. Under the background of this industry, the reform of the water heater industry is imminent. This is the fundamental reason why water heater companies have laid out smart markets one after another.

Although the market for water heaters in key cities was slightly flat, but in view of the overall development of the industry in 2014, Xu Dongsheng, the secretary-general of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, believes that the development momentum is still relatively steady, and it is expected to maintain moderate growth throughout the year. The rapid development of the county economy in China and the booming residential sales in 2013 will bring about an increase in the market. The market of key cities is relatively mature, mainly driven by consumer upgrading. Consumers pay more attention to quality and user experience.

In the future market competition, manufacturers must pay attention to the upgrading of product structure. The ultimate needs of humans for water heaters are water flow, water speed, water temperature, water pressure, safety, and energy saving. Therefore, user experience is particularly important. All product innovations of manufacturers are based on user needs and experiences, including on smart water heaters and around users. Practical needs, there should be further innovation. In the process of product innovation and upgrading, Internet technology, sensor technology, and control technology are more and more integrated with the traditional category of water heaters, which also shows that the future of intelligent water heater industry should adhere to the "people-oriented" direction of continuous innovation and development. Realize your "bath".

It was also learned that in order to allow more consumers to purchase more suitable smart water heater products, the China Smart Water Heater Enterprise Alliance will launch the “JD East Intelligent Water Heater Festival” in mid-May, and Jingdong will join hands with major water heater industry brands for consumption. Bring a wonderful feast for smart water heaters.