The HVAC market has grown significantly in recent years, driven by the development of increasingly efficient and high-performance solutions. The growing demand for low energy consumption and connected systems involves the orientation of the R&D functions of the technical departments towards innovative proposals.
Fantini Cosmi is a concrete example of a company that, through know-how and research, is able to meet the new market demands, offering efficient and technologically advanced systems.
Thanks to the support of Franco Brambilla, CEO of Fantini Cosmi, we analyse the future scenarios of the HVAC sector.
More specifically, in this article we will focus on:
- Fantini Cosmi: an overview of the company
- Developments in the HVAC sector
- The proposal of Fantini Cosmi
- The collaboration with SLIM
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Fantini Cosmi: an overview of the company
Good morning Dr Brambilla, before starting our interview since you are the Managing Director of Fantini Cosmi, can you tell us about the field you work in and what you do?
Fantini Cosmi has been active since 1931 in the field of temperature regulation, which has been joined over the years by other complementary sectors, such as air exchange and sanitation, making our company a point of reference for comfort, safety and efficiency in electrical and plumbing systems. Today we are committed to the concept of multi-comfort: we design and build products that allow you to live better, that contribute to health, environmental sustainability and personal well-being.
Developments in the HVAC sector
In which direction is the HVAC sector moving?
The growing demand for energy efficiency, and therefore low consumption solutions, has led to an increase in the spread of new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems to replace obsolete systems. Today, the trends in this sector see a strong focus on the environment and everything that is smart, connected. We are witnessing an evolution of air conditioning systems through digitalisation. Smart technologies for the home and industry are contributing to the digital transformation of devices, which are becoming increasingly intelligent and capable of adapting to users' habits to optimise performance.
Considering the difficult period due to the Covid-19 pandemic, are there any challenges you have had to face?
We have come through a long period, which has been difficult from many points of view. The market has undoubtedly suffered, but we can see the will to recover.
The pandemic has drawn everyone's attention to aspects that have been underestimated until now, such as air quality and the need for environments with "clean" and healthy air. At Fantini Cosmi, we have been adding a complete range of products for ventilation, air change and sanitation to our historical range of thermoregulation products for some time now, aiming at a multi-comfort concept, that is to say, all-round well-being. We were, therefore, ready to respond to a market demand that has grown in this direction.
What are the emerging trends in the industry?
Sustainability, connectivity, efficiency and integration. In short, these are the trends that are driving the development of the most important projects. And these are the characteristics that the user is looking for in a product that must be smart, easy to use and configure, remotely manageable, efficient and integrated with other systems.
What innovative aspects do you see for the future?
We are already seeing the application of artificial intelligence in our industry. In this sense, we have launched a chronothermostat and a controlled mechanical ventilation machine that uses AI. In the future, we will continue to see the application of AI in products, as well as the development of apps and software for increasingly easier management. Therefore, HVAC professionals will need to be able to keep up with the ever-increasing technological development and ensure that this is sustainable.
The proposal of Fantini Cosmi
Talking about thermoregulation, what is Fantini Cosmi's avant-garde proposal?
We have a wide range of products: from digital chronothermostats to Wi-Fi remote control,
to multi-zone chronothermostats. The latest addition, the C800WIFI, is our first AI-enabled chronothermostat, introducing an innovative approach to managing room comfort. By continuously monitoring the environmental parameters of temperature and humidity and processing the data by Artificial Intelligence algorithms, the system cross-references all the information needed to optimise the use of the room heating and cooling system. We have put all our decades of experience in temperature control into this new product, which represents the synthesis of decades of company know-how, both in terms of innovative advanced temperature control functions and various installation possibilities. It can be managed with the Google HomeTM and Amazon AlexaTM voice assistants, but also by means of voice commands given directly to the smartphone, bringing us as close as possible to the modern user who is looking for intelligent (and sustainable) solutions for his smart home.
What are the characteristics of the new equipment in terms of product design?
Aesthetics are "more and more" important. The user is attentive not only to the design but also to the overall dimensions, to the materials used, to the colours, to the usability, to the graphic interfaces and to the general experience he has with that product. Here at Fantini Cosmi, we have always given great importance to design, engaging important designers to realize some of our leading products. With this in mind, we have launched the new product of 2021, Ecocomfort 2.0 Smart (VMC), which has been awarded the prestigious international Red Dot Design Award 2021: this product has a minimalist design, with a round white cover and a single multifunctional button with multicolour LEDs. But it is not only the aesthetic aspect that makes it an interesting product compared to the previous model. It has a removable cover attached with magnets to make installation and maintenance quick and easy
The collaboration with SLIM
What do you consider the strengths of this partnership with SLIM?
Fantini Cosmi has been working together with SLIM for several years, we can talk about a historical relationship based on the trust deriving from years of collaboration in which we have been able to verify the solidity of the company. We have relied on SLIM for the supply of standard products such as the 2-way slider switches and the NEON SL5/R 220V lamps. Among their strengths, we can certainly mention their flexibility and responsiveness in terms of service.
Do you think there is room for development for customised lighting solutions for aesthetic, and not just functional, comfort management systems?
As I mentioned before, design is now a key aspect of comfort systems.
Therefore, also the light component will have more and more space as an aesthetic design element and not only as a functional signal within these products. Research must therefore focus on innovative and equally attractive and sophisticated lighting solutions to make HVAC systems not only high-performance but also attractive.
We would like to thank Dr Brambilla for this valuable contribution.
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