It is perfectly normal for every room to have a thermostat—today, no new building is imagined without one. With a thermostat, we regulate the temperature to our liking, which increases comfort. The price of a single thermostat ranges from 50 to 200 euros, depending on the system. No one asks about the return on investment for a thermostat—it’s not important, because it’s a basic necessity, just like electricity or the internet.
High-quality indoor air—something we can’t do without for even a minute—is increasingly in the spotlight. The best way to ensure good indoor air quality at reasonable costs is through room-based, demand-controlled ventilation, where air exchange occurs according to actual needs. If there are more people in the room, air exchange is more intensive; if the room is empty, it’s minimal. In new office buildings, this is already standard, and the solution is becoming more common in residential homes as well. In reality, good indoor air quality is even more important than temperature—you can put on a sweater in a cold room, but discomfort in a stuffy space arises quickly. In summer, you can open windows, but in winter, that means health risks and significantly higher heating costs.
Just as thermostats have become an elemental part of every building, demand-controlled ventilation is becoming the standard. Buildings are not constructed for one year, but for decades, and real estate investments are made with a long-term perspective—therefore, ventilation must also be modern and durable.
Ventilation equipment manufacturers have understood this. In recent years, investments have increased both in the development of new solutions and in the acquisition of companies. For example, in 2022, Aldes Groupe acquired Aereco, a manufacturer of demand-controlled ventilation systems. Many other players—Duco, Climecon, F2A, Lindab, and others—have also directed significant resources toward the development of demand-controlled ventilation.
Just as NEST brought innovation to the outdated thermostat market, exciting developments are expected in the ventilation equipment sector as well. NEST was sold to Google for $3.2 billion—and it was “just” a thermostat manufacturer.