In 2012, Gree, a well-known domestic air conditioning brand, put forward the slogan of "Gree grasps core technology", and relied on the excellent performance of Lingda compressor to "kill all sides" in the domestic air conditioning market. However, on the Internet in 2023, the phrase "Gree controls core technology" seems to have become a "joke" used to attack Gree products and Dong Mingzhu himself.
Apart from the personal attacks on Dong Mingzhu, Gree's performance in recent years shows that "mastering core technology" to describe Gree has indeed fallen behind the times. In 2023, Gree updated the "Gree Rose" series of air conditioners and launched a new generation of "Rose Air Conditioners". It is said that the air conditioner "designed by Dong Mingzhu himself" adopts an extremely bold "bionic" design and also has a cooling and heating mode.
Photo source: Gree
However, from the comments on the Internet, we don't buy the design and price of this car. The discussion was so intense that Gerry responded in person. For example, in Xiao Lei's opinion, the bold and unique appearance design of Rose Air Conditioner does not conform to the low-key and simple home style of young people today. In particular, the "pink bionic rose petal air outlet" highlighted by Gree is out of place in any European, Japanese or even "New Chinese" layout.
Of course, Dong Mingzhu also said that this air conditioner is suitable for "golden wedding" people. Considering the approximate age of its target customers, I don't think there is any problem with the appearance design of Rose Air Conditioner, or even the product positioning is very accurate, The only problem should be the high price of the product, but for Gree, a brand with the main offline sales channel, the proposed higher price is actually to leave margin for the end dealers.
In this view, this rose air conditioner can also be regarded as "self justification", not "no work hard". Is it really so difficult to innovate in the field of air conditioning?
Where is the difficulty of air conditioning innovation?
In general, The innovation difficulties of household split air conditioners are either outdoor units (energy efficiency) or indoor units (air control interaction). First, improving the energy efficiency ratio has always been the core goal of air conditioning technology innovation. With the improvement of environmental awareness and the increase of energy costs, it is particularly important to develop air conditioning systems that can provide high-quality cooling and heating effects with low energy consumption. This requires that air conditioners not only use efficient compressors and heat exchangers, but also need intelligent control systems to accurately adjust the operating state to reduce energy waste.
Secondly, noise reduction is also an important aspect of household air conditioning technology innovation. In a densely populated environment, the noise of air conditioners may affect the comfort of living. Therefore, the development of low-noise fans and compressors and the optimization of the overall body structure to reduce vibration and noise have become a key research direction of manufacturers.
Photo source: Gree
With everyone's attention to the concept of environmental protection, the challenge of air conditioning in environmental protection cannot be ignored. Most of the traditional air conditioning refrigerants are Freon, which is very harmful to the ozone layer; Research and development of new environment-friendly refrigerants and improvement of system design to reduce refrigerant leakage are the key links of air conditioning technology innovation.
In addition, how to seamlessly integrate the air conditioning system with smart home devices to provide user friendly intelligent control experience is also a big technical challenge. Yes, most air conditioners in the market have been intelligent, and basic power control can be performed with mobile apps. Smart home protocols such as Matter have also opened up the gap between air conditioners and smart home systems to a certain extent. However, some intelligent controls that directly affect the underlying logic of products can still only be achieved by the brand's own ecosystem.
What kind of air conditioner do consumers need?
Although Rose Air Conditioner's bold "design innovation" did not win the recognition of consumers as expected, it does not mean that the direction of air conditioner innovation is wrong. In fact, air conditioners, which are super long-lived household appliances, can constantly bring forth new things through innovation.
first, In terms of functional innovation, optimizing air circulation will become an important research direction. With more advanced aerodynamic design, more effective air distribution and circulation can be achieved, so as to improve the cooling and heating efficiency, and better maintain the indoor air quality. For example, the rose air conditioner just mentioned adopts two completely different air duct designs under the two working modes of refrigeration and heating, which optimizes the circulation of cold and hot air in the room by convection, bringing a more comfortable user experience.
Image source: Midea
In terms of scene innovation, Midea's kitchen air conditioner product launched in 2023 is the best example for me to explore new application scenarios of air conditioners. Kitchen air conditioning should not only solve the traditional problems of refrigeration and heating, but also take into account the unique problems of cooking fume, moisture and smell. This puts forward higher requirements for the cooling capacity and durability of air conditioners.
In addition, considering the particularity of the kitchen space, the kitchen air conditioner will be more compact and integrated in design. In addition to these questions that everyone can think of, The kitchen air conditioner can also realize the fire linkage with the range hood and the intelligent kitchen stove to achieve a certain degree of intelligence.
But then again, the market for home appliances such as air conditioners is highly saturated, and the replacement cycle is often 10 years. Why should air conditioner brands seek innovation in such highly formed products? The reason is not complicated, because "household central air conditioning" has become the first choice for many young people to decorate their new homes.
Compared with the traditional split air conditioning, the advantage of the central air conditioning system is that it can provide more uniform and continuous temperature control. In addition, the central air-conditioning system is usually more energy efficient, Because they use advanced compressor and heat exchange technology, as well as more accurate temperature control system. This not only improves energy efficiency, but also helps reduce long-term operating costs.
Image source: Midea
However, the installation and initial investment costs of central air conditioners are usually higher than those of split air conditioners. This has left a certain living space for the split air conditioning market, Especially in those families that are sensitive to cost or are not convenient to install central air-conditioning system. In addition, split air conditioners are usually more simple and flexible in installation and maintenance, and suitable for rental housing or temporary accommodation.
Faced with the competition of central air conditioners, split air conditioner manufacturers need to find new competitive strategies and innovation points, which is actually the reason why we have seen household appliance enterprises constantly innovate in the field of air conditioners in recent years. Although the popularity of central air conditioning poses a challenge to the household split air conditioning market, However, split air conditioners still have their unique market positioning and advantages. Through innovation and strategic adjustment, split air conditioners still have the opportunity to maintain their position in the competitive market.
As for whether Rose Air Conditioner, a "few people's carnival", can really win the favor of consumers, I believe that the consumer market based on sales volume will soon give us an answer.
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