Staying up to date with industry trends helps you keep ahead of the competition, and do your best work. In our fast-changing refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps (RACHP) industry, you have to keep on top of how sector-wide changes will affect you and your business in 2026.
Supporting you and your business is important to us, which is why we’ve pooled our knowledge and experience to compile the latest trending RACHP topics for 2026.
Read on to discover the up-to-date trends that will help you deliver the highest-quality service to your customers, backed by the latest industry knowledge.
Current RACHP industry outlook
So, where is the industry today? The UK RACHP market is huge – valued at just under £5 billion in 2023, it’s predicted to reach £6.7 billion by 2030.
A call for more RACHP professionals
There’s incredible potential for growth in the sector, with an increase in demand for skilled workers.
Recent reports suggest over 250,000 extra construction workers are needed to plug the construction workforce shortage, including recruiting an extra 1,900 plumbing and RACHP professionals every year.
To make the most of this opportunity, more people will need to enter the industry. This comes with its challenges – for example, heat pump installers believe more college apprenticeships will be needed to develop the relevant skillsets and encourage young people to join the workforce. More skilled workers must be recruited to scale up the energy efficiency of buildings in the UK.
Energy efficiency on the agenda
This leads us nicely on to another shift you’ll likely have noticed over the last few years – the move towards sustainable, eco-friendly systems and services.
The government’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 has boosted demand for RACHP systems that support heat recovery and renewable energy sources, or that use sustainable materials for RACHP components.
To meet ambitious targets to increase the number of heat pump installations to 600,000 per year by 2028, the government introduced the Clean Heat Market Mechanism initiative in April. This mandates that 6% of boiler manufacturers’ total sales must come from heat pumps in 2025-2026, with small fines for non-compliance.
Due to be published in autumn this year, the upcoming Future Homes and Buildings Standard will require new build properties to cut carbon emissions by 75-80% compared to current standards, with similar requirements for non-domestic buildings. This follows updates to Part L and F of the Building Regulations, in place from 2022 onwards, which set fresh standards for minimum U-values, energy efficiency, and ventilation.
Growing demand for cooling systems
As UK temperatures rise and we experience more frequent heatwaves, there’s also been a wider adoption of climate control systems. Residential air con sales have risen dramatically this summer, with demand in April-June up 23% from that time last year.
Let’s explore in more detail industry trends for 2026 and beyond.
Top 5 RACHP trends for 2026
1. Smart predictive maintenance
While no longer a new trend, the use of smart predictive maintenance and data analysis shows no sign of slowing down.
Being able to predict potential upcoming issues and preventing them ahead of time transforms RACHP systems like air conditioning – meaning fewer unexpected breakdowns and longer system lifespans. That way, you can drastically reduce customer downtime and keep RACHP systems running smoothly.
Recent studies show that in commercial buildings, AI’s full potential hasn’t been realised for lowering carbon emissions – it could reduce energy consumption by 8 to 19% with its more sophisticated applications for deep learning.
2. Remote monitoring and control
Remote capabilities do exactly what you’d expect: they enable you to remotely monitor RACHP system changes.
This means you can continuously collect data on airflow, temperature, and humidity levels. Integrations with AR even allow you to remotely visualise RACHP systems as 3D holograms, and assess remote upkeep across multiple sites.
In residential applications, smart integrations with thermostats continue to develop, becoming more intelligent. Integrations with the Cloud give homeowners the chance to track their energy usage and more closely control their heating and cooling systems.
3. Sustainability and energy efficiency
One of the hottest industry trends is the push for more sustainable, energy efficient products to combat climate change.
Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) outdoor units continue to be a popular choice for higher-efficiency solutions, changing capacity based on the needs of different zones, and not always running at 100% capacity. This lowers commercial operational costs, as well as saving energy.
Recent updates to UK legislation for increased sustainability include:
- Banning the sale of R410A single-split AC units in January.
- Simultaneously banning virgin hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HFC) servicing refrigeration equipment with a high global warming potential (GWP) – a measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas will trap in the Earth’s atmosphere in a set time period.
- Looking ahead, in 2026, banning virgin HFCs with a GWP of more than 2500 for servicing air conditioning and heat pumps.
These updates follow the European Union’s fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-Gas) regulations, amended to try and mitigate these gases’ environmental impact.
In January 2024, fresh amendments to these regulations set out a comprehensive review of HFCs, with plans to gradually phase out high-GWP refrigerants.
4. Decarbonisation with heat pumps
Across Europe, efforts to decarbonise are coming to a head, as countries put using cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels high on the agenda. For you, that means you’ll probably see a transition to different kinds of installations, prioritising clean energy systems like heat pumps – particularly in commercial settings.
At TF Solutions, we specialise in air to water heat pumps from the leading manufacturers, Mitsubishi Electric and Samsung.
We also have an in-house team of specialists with years of experience and manufacturer accreditation, here to offer you support on your projects. They look after you from the design stage at the start of a project, right through to installation and after-sales.
Get in touch to find out more about our heat pump offerings and services.
5. Higher indoor air quality standards
In a post-pandemic world, it’s no surprise that improving indoor air quality (IAQ) conditions is a growing trend.
Low IAQ can trigger allergies or transmit airborne diseases, so it’s important that filtration is incorporated into modern AC setups. Filtration systems like HEPA filters aim to remove contaminants from the air, improving ventilation in spaces like workplaces, shops and restaurants.
This helps create healthier environments for everyone, meaning we can all breathe easy.
Mitsubishi Electric has written a useful guide to IAQ to help businesses of all sizes better understand why it should be considered business-critical. If you’re looking for more information, it might be a useful place to start!
Keep ahead of RACHP trends
We know you need the latest news and updates at your fingertips to retain your customers and attract new work.
TF Solutions is more than just a distributor – across the business, we have a wealth of knowledge to support your AC, ventilation, air source heat pump, chiller and refrigeration projects and deliver hands-on expertise from people who know the industry inside and out.
Drop us a line or give us a call to find out how we can help.