Your Building Is Talking. Here's How To Listen With AI And Automation

Forbes

14-07-2025

Riaz Raihan is SVP & Chief Digital Officer at Trane Technologies.
Why the big push toward digitization in the built environment? What aspects of a building have the most potential for positive operational and environmental impact? What does long-term value truly look like?
In an era where buildings' energy management and cost efficiency are paramount, these questions are increasingly relevant. Rising energy rates and a significant shift from equipment and services-based needs to broader outcome-driven demand make finding answers crucial.
Despite breakthrough innovation over the last several years, buildings still can't actually speak to us. They do, however, constantly give us non-verbal cues through technologies like AI and autonomous controls.
These digitization solutions can significantly reduce buildings' operating costs and their carbon footprint. So, the question to ask is: Your building is talking, but do you know how to listen?
The Discreet Cool Factor
We've all heard how cool, cutting-edge technologies like AI and autonomous controls are enhancing productivity, efficiency and decision-making across nearly every sector. It's easy, and warranted, to get excited about them, especially in the built environment.
As I've seen in my role as senior vice president and chief digital officer at Trane Technologies, AI and automation are being practically applied in HVAC systems to support outcome-based performance. And for good reason, as more than 50% of a building's operating cost can be attributed to its heating, ventilation and cooling.
However, digital technologies require significant power to sustain and advance their capabilities, increasing strain on our grids and energy consumption. As such, we can't fall into the trap of implementing digital just because it's trendy.
The true allure of digitization and AI in the built environment lies in their ability to deliver operational cost savings, emissions reductions and optimal performance, which I see as their most discreet cool factor.
Interpreting Your Buildings' Non-Verbal Cues
This is where your buildings' non-verbal cues and your ability to "listen" become critically important.
Digitally enabled AI technologies like autonomous controls can help us look at both structured data (building layout, indoor temperatures, equipment specifications) and unstructured data (weather patterns and forecasts, pollution data, occupancy patterns) to optimize buildings' energy performance.
As AI-enabled building controls learn how to respond to changing conditions, including energy pricing fluctuations, they can autonomously optimize energy performance and enable cost-effective predictive maintenance.
I like to frame this in the context of streaming platforms, which regularly feed us new and interesting content, showcasing the value of our monthly subscriptions—so much so that we are often compelled to set them on auto-renew.
But what happens when the content becomes stale? If you go weeks without anything new catching your eye, you start doubting its value, right? You might even cancel one subscription and opt for another. The same mindset can be true for the built environment, but that's also where digital enablement drives significant value—by reading and acting on a building's non-verbal cues.
Technologies like digital twins, building automation systems and autonomous controls capture real-time data and advanced analytics—continuously optimizing system performance by enhancing efficiency and reducing energy consumption and operational costs.
Leveraging these solutions can help you listen to and understand your buildings while enabling energy and cost savings, demonstrating their ROI and economic viability. In some cases, I've seen energy savings of 25% to 35% and paybacks of 12 to 18 months.
Just like streaming platforms continue to feed us fresh and engaging content, proving the worth of their subscription fees, a building's digital technologies also deliver consistent, real-time value.
Potential Challenges Turned Successful Outcomes
Implementing these technologies requires a comprehensive approach. Additional factors, including data requirements, computing capabilities and internal skills must be considered.
The availability of historical energy use data and operational data on a building's HVAC systems and other parameters is critical for identifying patterns and improvement areas. This is a key component of autonomous controls and building automation systems. Access to a building's architectural plans and layouts is also essential for creating accurate digital twins.
A robust cloud infrastructure to process large volumes of data and reliable and secure communication protocols for data transmission and storage must also be factored in.
But access to information is null if you forget the most important piece of the implementation puzzle: a skilled talent pipeline adept at analyzing data and machine learning techniques to derive actionable insights and reduce latency. While innovative digitization technologies are changing the game for reducing energy demand and emissions across the built environment, prioritizing the talent to advance them is vital.
Of course, implementation can still come with challenges, including data integration and system interoperability. Integrating data from a variety of sources (sensors, historical records, occupancy and weather patterns) into a unified system can be complex and time-consuming. Different systems may also use varying formats, making it harder to standardize and harmonize data for analysis.
But these potential challenges can be turned into successful outcomes. One important aspect is having a centralized platform capable of aggregating data into a single repository, where data is more easily accessed, managed and analyzed.
Driving Demand-Based Outcomes
The built environment has seen decades of trends and shifting perspectives from building owners and facility managers.
Fifty years ago, the only thing customers cared about was the capital investment needed to install a high-quality HVAC system. Eventually, that progressed to high-quality and well-maintained systems, with good indoor air quality.
Today, things look drastically different. Customers demand outcomes, not just equipment that meets their day-to-day heating and cooling needs. They require high-quality, well-maintained, smart and adaptable machines that help reduce emissions, cut costs and optimize energy consumption.
This aggregation of behavioral change affirms the growing demand for purpose-driven, sustainable technology that drives energy efficiency and decarbonization.
AI and digital technologies can leverage the things that your building and its environment are telling you to drive these outcomes, underscoring the importance of your ability to listen to your building when it's talking to you.
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