Active Pilots and Demonstration Project

AI-Enabled HVAC Controls Field Study

About the Pilot

This project will pilot two AI-enabled HVAC supervisory control platforms across Wisconsin commercial buildings to test energy savings, operational benefits, and cost-effectiveness under real-world conditions. It will compare Monaire’s platform targeting small- to medium-sized buildings without a Building Automation System (BAS) and Trane’s BrainBox AI platform for commercial buildings with or without a BAS, with the goal of producing Wisconsin-specific performance data and guidance for future program integration.

Project Timeline: June 2026 – December 2026
Customer Segment: Business

A cafe scene: older person in a pink shirt and light apron holds a smartphone, gesturing, while another person in yellow sits at a window seat.

Pilot / Project Objectives

Develop a screening tool/matrix for AI-enabled HVAC supervisory control platforms. Determine which ones can legitimately save energy and which ones only provide a user interface to the cloud.
Validate platform energy performance under Wisconsin climate conditions: Test Monaire's claimed 18–25% RTU energy savings and BrainBox AI's up to 25% HVAC savings across diverse commercial building types and sizes.
Quantify platform economics: Calculate simple payback periods and cost-effectiveness for both platforms, disaggregated by building type and size. Include non-energy benefits such as using Large Language Model (LLM)/AI-assisted O&M benefits (Monaire) and virtual building engineer value (BrainBox ARIA) to reduce O&M costs.

Pilot / Project Updates

The Research Team is actively recruiting participants for the project. This is an opportunity to adopt emerging technology that could save energy costs and streamline building operations. Our targets are thirteen buildings for Monaire’s platform and seven buildings for Trane’s Brainbox AI platform. The deadline to execute the project participation agreement is August 15, 2026.

Get Involved

Why Participate?

Focus on Energy covers 100% of implementation costs.
Significant HVAC energy savings (10–25%).
Reduced O&M costs.
Provides centralized HVAC equipment visibility and control.

Participation Requirements

BrainBox AI (Trane AI Control Solutions)

Medium- to large-size commercial building.
The building cannot be primarily made up by operating rooms, clean rooms, or pressure-dependent spaces.
With or without an existing building automation system (BAS).

Monaire

Small- to medium-size commercial building.
HVAC equipment are primarily RTUs (<30 tons) or residential style air-conditioning systems with thermostat based controls.
Without an existing building automation system (BAS), or willing disconnect HVAC from existing BAS.

Apply Today

Please contact Xiaohui ‘Joe’ Zhou at xiaohui.zhou@focusonenergy.com.

Questions?

Contact the Future Focus team with questions at futurefocus@focusonenergy.com.