Hong Kong is located at the sub-tropical region. It has a climate with high temperatures and humidity for most of the time and so the demand for air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment is very great. Along with the economic surge of the society and people’s rising demand on living standard, air-conditioning and refrigeration engineering started to develop progressively since the 70’s. Nowadays, practitioners of air-conditioning and refrigeration engineering play a vital role in regard to the socio-economic development of Hong Kong and the development of people’s living quality.

Air-conditioning and refrigeration engineering is one of the major engineering branches of the electrical and mechanical industry in Hong Kong. Its scope of service includes the design, installation, maintenance and operation management of central air-conditioning systems, ventilation systems, large refrigeration systems and cold storage; and the installation and maintenance of unitary air-conditioners and small refrigeration systems.

In Hong Kong, there are no plants for manufacturing unitary air-conditioners, refrigerators, and air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment. Most of the air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment and parts are imported from abroad. The practitioners of the air-conditioning and refrigeration engineering branch in Hong Kong are mainly engaged in the design, installation, repair, maintenance, and operation of central air-conditioning systems and ventilation systems; installation and repair of unitary air-conditioners and refrigeration equipment; and the design, installation, repair, maintenance and operation of large refrigeration equipment and cold storage, etc.

Air-conditioning and refrigeration engineering is one of the major branches of the electrical and mechanical industry in Hong Kong. Persons engaged in this branch account for a very large proportion of those engaged in the electrical and mechanical industry. Although the factories of the manufacturing industry in Hong Kong have migrated to the north in recent years, it has not affected the practitioners much because the branch of air-conditioning and refrigeration engineering belongs to service engineering. In fact, air-conditioning and refrigeration systems and equipment have become part of our daily life as people’s demand for a comfortable living environment has been increasing with the rapid socio-economic development in recent years. In the past few decades, the vigorous development of the construction of real estates has brought about the rapid development of the discipline of air-conditioning and refrigeration engineering. With the endeavours of people engaged in the Industry, the quality of air-conditioning and refrigeration engineering works has reached the international standard and even comes first in Asia.

Along with the development of technology, the demand for energy-saving, environmental protection, indoor air quality management has been increasing in the society of Hong Kong. This brings about new business opportunities for the branch of air-conditioning and refrigeration engineering. It also widens and consolidates the space for its development. The demand for different levels of professional and technical experts in the design, installation, maintenance and operation management of air-conditioning and refrigeration facilities is also increasing in Hong Kong.