An aggressive plan to increase its share of the smart home and intelligent building technology market in the UK has been unveiled by ABB. The plan aims to capitalise on the company’s smart technology product offering and its applications expertise to establish a 20% share of the smart technology market by 2012. At the heart of the plan is the launch of two new initiatives into the UK market, to help boost awareness of the technology and the many benefits that it can bring.
The first of these is the creation of an intelligent building team, which will provide customer service and sales support for ABB’s range of open platform KNX/EIB products. Headed by James Haigh, general manager for ABB’s low voltage products business in the UK, the six-strong team will provide support for both installers and key decision-makers involved in specifying the technology. It will primarily focus on the residential and commercial markets, which are estimated to be the two main growth sectors for smart building control technology up to 2012.
“Our new team will ensure that users of ABB’s KNX/EIB smart building controls in the UK receive all the support they need, whether it be guidance on which products are best for a particular application, or advice on commissioning or configuration,” says Haigh. “They will also work to educate the market on the benefits of the technology and encourage customers to think beyond conventional lighting and heating control technology for their applications.”
To help promote the technology to electrical contractors, ABB has also set up a new scheme linked to a recommended KNX-accredited training school. This scheme entitles anyone who undertakes KNX training at the school to claim either a £500 voucher, redeemable against ABB i-bus KNX products, or a free demonstration case which the contractor can use to help sell the technology to customers.
“With so few properly trained installers in the UK, the smart building control market presents a terrific opportunity for the entrepreneurial electrical contractor. The best entrepreneurs actively look around for the best ideas and find ways to translate them into their own businesses. With the market for intelligent installation systems estimated to grow by 50% to £250m by 2012, gaining the KNX-qualification can provide a real competitive advantage,” says Haigh. “Having as many trained installers as possible is also great for ABB as it provides an additional channel that we can use to help promote the smart technology message in the UK.”
The second initiative being launched by ABB will help promote the energy-saving potential of smart building controls by providing users of ABB i-bus KNX technology with advice on claiming Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) grants. These grants entitle businesses to offset the capital cost of their investment in energy saving technologies against their taxable profits of the period during which they make the investment.
“ECA grants provide a great way of offsetting some of the cost of investing in smart building controls,” says Haigh. “To ensure that our customers take advantage of this golden opportunity, we will provide advice on the steps they need to take to get a grant, including how to make a successful application.”
These two initiatives are just part of a wider plan to mirror ABB’s success in smart building controls technology in Germany, where it is already one of the main leaders in a market currently worth around £350m.
“Although the UK market is currently way behind continental Europe in its understanding of the benefits of smart building controls, there is nevertheless massive potential for growth,” says Haigh. “We believe that the way forward is for ABB to work with other parties involved in promoting smart building control technology, such as system integrators, qualified installers and existing end users, in order to ensure that the benefits of the technology are communicated as widely as possible.”