Air-Source Heat Pump Air Handling Patent Landscape 2026
The air-source heat pump air handling field is in a Growth stage, with the top five filers among the hundred largest filers controlling nearly half of their combined output and BE HIVE TECH LTD holding the lead position. Activity is expanding on a multi-year basis, though annual volume has eased from its 2022 peak and the most recent filing years remain understated by publication lag.
BE HIVE TECH LTD leads a moderately concentrated field
BE HIVE TECH LTD ranks first with 7 patent records, followed by Zehnder Group International AG with 6 and two individual inventors — Tyler J. Olson and Brian R. Workman — each with 5, making the top tier a mix of corporate and independent inventors.
The top five filers account for 47% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate concentration: no single dominant bloc has locked up the space, but the gap between the top four and the broader long tail is meaningful.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BE HIVE TECH LTD | 7 | |
| 2 | Zehnder Group International AG | 6 | |
| 3 | Tyler J. Olson | 5 | |
| 4 | Brian R. Workman | 5 | |
| 5 | Daikin Industries, Ltd. | 3 | |
| 6 | Fu Yihang | 2 | |
| 7 | Solmatix | 2 | |
| 8 | East China Architecture Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 9 | Wang Zhen | 2 | |
| 10 | Beijing Gas Energy Development Co., Ltd. | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Tongfang Artificial Environment Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 12 | Dalian University of Technology | 2 | |
| 13 | UNIV OF SHANGHAI FOR SCI & TECH | 1 | |
| 14 | Tyler J. Olson | 1 | |
| 15 | Yangzhou University | 1 | |
| 16 | Shandong Linuo Paradigma Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 17 | Nanjing Chuangyuan Integration Air Conditioning Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 18 | Tianjin Huaye Engineering Design Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 19 | China Huaye Group Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 20 | Brian R. Workman | 1 |
The leader’s emphasis on ventilation and heat-recovery sub-classes (F24F 12 and F24F 11) signals that integration of fresh-air handling with heat-pump efficiency is the current technical frontier driving portfolio construction.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are under-counted due to typical patent publication lag; apparent low counts for 2023–2025 should not be read as a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Multi-year growth anchored in ventilation and refrigeration sub-classes
Two views together reveal both the pace of activity over time and the technology mix that defines where inventors are concentrating effort across this field.
Annual filing trend
Filings rose from single-digit annual counts through 2021, spiked to 11 in 2022, then appear subdued in 2023–2025 — a pattern consistent with publication lag rather than a genuine retreat. The three-year recent window sits 150% above the prior three-year window, confirming the field is still on a multi-year upward trajectory.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
F24F (air conditioning and ventilation) dominates with 44 patent records, reflecting the system-integration focus of the field; F25B (refrigeration and heat pumps) is the next branch with 14 records, covering the refrigerant-cycle core. Branches such as F24D (domestic heating systems), F25D, and F28D hold far fewer records, marking them as under-served adjacent areas.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Heat recovery ventilation system with defrosting b…
Disclosed herein is a heat recovery ventilation system (<b>1</b>) for a building comprising a heat recovery ventilation unit (<b>10</b>) with a heat exchanger (<b>11</b>), a supply air channel (<b>20</b>) being in fluidic connection with a supply air outlet (<b>14</b>) and being configured for delivering supply air from the heat exchanger (<b>11</b>) to the… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 具有制冷、制热、生活热水和新风功能的空调热泵通风系统 | 21 |
| 2 | 具有制冷、制热、生活热水和新风功能的空调热泵通风机组 | 19 |
| 3 | Radiant Air Conditioning System for Controlling Co… | 13 |
| 4 | Mechanical ventilation heat recovery apparatus | 12 |
| 5 | 一种带热回收功能的地源与空气源耦合热泵系统 | 4 |
| 6 | Mechanical ventilation heat recovery apparatus | 3 |
| 7 | 一种空气源热泵集中供暖智能控制系统 | 2 |
| 8 | 空气源热泵机组防雪通风系统 | 2 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the patent structure means for R&D investment decisions
The combination of moderate concentration, a clear dominant IPC class, and several sparse adjacent branches points to specific entry and differentiation opportunities for engineering teams.
Growth stage with eased annual volume since the 2022 peak
The field carries a Growth lifecycle designation: the recent three-year filing window is 150% above the prior three-year window, confirming sustained expansion on a multi-year basis. However, annual volume has eased from its 2022 peak, and publication lag further suppresses apparent recent counts. Teams entering now face a field that is actively developing but not yet saturated.
Growth stageModerate concentration with a competitive top tier
The top five filers hold 47% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, a moderate concentration level that leaves meaningful room for challengers. The top tier is unusually mixed — a specialist firm, a European ventilation group, and two independent US inventors — suggesting the field has not yet coalesced around a few industrial incumbents. New entrants with differentiated system architectures can realistically compete for visibility.
Moderate HHILimited co-filing; Daikin entities are the most active collaborators
Two co-applicant pairs are recorded: Daikin Europe and Daikin Industries Ltd filed jointly on 3 patent records, and Wang Zhen co-filed with Tongfang Artificial Environment on 2 records. Co-filing activity is narrow overall, which suggests most applicants are protecting proprietary system designs independently rather than through joint development agreements. Cross-border collaboration beyond the Daikin pairing is not yet evident in the data.
Low collaboration densityChina leads filings; US and EPO provide meaningful international coverage
China accounts for the largest number of patent records at 18, followed by the United States at 9 and the EPO at 6. Australia and Canada also appear as filing destinations, and a WIPO (PCT) entry indicates some applicants are seeking broad international protection. The China-heavy profile reflects both domestic demand for heat-pump heating and the presence of multiple Chinese academic and industrial filers in the ranking.
China-led, globally distributedGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Daikin Europe N.V. | Daikin Industries, Ltd. | 3 |
| Wang Zhen | Tongfang Artificial Environment Co., Ltd. | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
BE HIVE TECH LTD and Zehnder Group lead; new entrants are reshaping the challenger tier
The top two filers hold distinct technical emphases, while several new entrants with recent momentum are beginning to reshape the challenger tier.
BE HIVE TECH LTD
BE HIVE TECH LTD leads the field with 7 patent records, concentrated in F24F 12 (heat-recovery ventilation), F24F 11 (control systems), and F24F 13 (structural components) — a profile oriented toward system-level integration of heat recovery with ventilation. No momentum trend is recorded in the recent-window data, suggesting its portfolio was built in an earlier period and the firm has not yet appeared as a new-entrant mover in the most recent cycle.
patent records: 7Zehnder Group International AG
Zehnder Group International AG holds 6 patent records and is the leading European-headquartered filer in this landscape, with technology emphasis traceable through the ventilation and air-conditioning sub-classes. The firm’s presence across EPO and other jurisdictions suggests a broader international protection strategy relative to many peers. Its position as the closest rival to BE HIVE TECH LTD makes it a key benchmark for any entrant targeting the European market.
patent records: 6| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Zehnder Group International AG | 6 | ▲ new entrant |
| Brian R. Workman | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Tyler J. Olson | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Fu Yihang | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches in domestic heating integration and heat-exchange apparatus
Three IPC branches sit at the periphery of the dominant F24F core with notably low patent-record counts, representing areas where technical overlap with air-source heat pump air handling exists but dedicated filing activity is sparse.
F24D · Domestic heating systems
F24D holds only 3 patent records and a 5% share of the classified corpus, making it the sparsest branch with direct relevance to heat-pump deployment in residential settings. Domestic heating integration — coupling air-source heat pumps with hydronic or radiant distribution within buildings — is a plausible technical extension of the core air-handling work, and the low filing density suggests limited incumbent IP coverage. An entrant with residential system architecture expertise could position here with relatively low freedom-to-operate risk, though the small absolute count means the white-space observation should be validated with a broader search before committing resources.
Search this in Eureka →F28D · Heat-exchange apparatus
F28D carries just 1 patent record in this corpus, representing a 2% share — the lowest of any classified branch. Heat-exchange apparatus design is a foundational enabler of heat-pump efficiency, covering coil geometry, fluid-to-air transfer surfaces, and defrost architectures. The near-absence of dedicated F28D filings in the air handling context suggests that component-level heat-exchanger innovation for air-source systems is either handled upstream by refrigeration specialists or simply underrepresented in the current applicant set. For teams with heat-exchanger engineering capability, this branch warrants closer examination as a potential area of differentiation.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route across ventilation and refrigeration sub-classes
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | F24F 12 · Air conditioning & ventilation | F24F 11 · Air conditioning & ventilation | F24F 13 · Air conditioning & ventilation | F24F 5 · Air conditioning & ventilation | F24F 7 · Air conditioning & ventilation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BE HIVE TECH LTD | Strong · 6 | Strong · 4 | Strong · 4 | Moderate · 3 | Emerging · 1 |
| Zehnder Group International AG | Strong · 5 | Strong · 6 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Tyler J. Olson | Strong · 5 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 5 |
| Brian R. Workman | Strong · 5 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 5 |
| Beijing Gas Energy Development Co., Ltd. | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Moderate · 1 | Moderate · 1 |
| East China Architecture Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. | Absent | Absent | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 |
| Solmatix | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Absent | Moderate · 1 | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The current corpus contains 41 patent families in scope, with filing activity recorded across 11 jurisdictions including China, the United States, the EPO, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
BE HIVE TECH LTD leads with 7 patent records, focused on heat-recovery ventilation (F24F 12), control systems (F24F 11), and structural components (F24F 13). Zehnder Group International AG is the closest rival with 6 patent records.
The field is classified as Growth stage. Recent three-year filing volume is 150% above the prior three-year window, indicating multi-year expansion. Annual volume eased from a 2022 peak, and the most recent years are further understated by publication lag, so apparent low counts in 2023–2025 do not signal a genuine slowdown.
China leads with 18 patent records, followed by the United States with 9 and the EPO with 6. Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Austria, Ireland, Japan, Norway, and WIPO (PCT) also appear as filing destinations.
The highest-cited works in the corpus include Chinese patents covering air-conditioning heat-pump ventilation systems integrating cooling, heating, domestic hot water, and fresh-air functions (cited 21 and 19 times respectively), and an international patent on a radiant air conditioning system for condensation control (cited 13 times). A mechanical ventilation heat recovery apparatus also appears twice in the top-cited list.
F24D (domestic heating systems) holds only 3 patent records at a 5% share, and F28D (heat-exchange apparatus) holds just 1 record at a 2% share — both sparse relative to the dominant F24F ventilation core. These branches have plausible technical relevance to air-source heat pump systems but limited dedicated filing coverage. Teams should validate freedom to operate with a broader search before committing to either area.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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