AI‑Powered Building Optimization Is Here. What We've Learned So Far

Long before the latest geopolitical issues made major impacts on oil and gas markets, property owners faced financial and regulatory pressure to make their buildings operate more efficiently and reduce their carbon emissions, said Brendan Dowd, senior vice president at Boland, a commercial HVAC systems, services and energy solutions provider. 

Generative AI and advanced analytics tools are being used by property owners and facilities managers to help meet these goals and cut utility costs in individual buildings and across entire portfolios. 

Boland’s artificial intelligence-assisted systems were shown to reduce electricity usage in a multifamily portfolio by over 42% and equivalent carbon emissions by 38%, with significant reductions recorded in other asset types as well, Dowd said. Specifically, the firm’s data has found electricity reductions of 22%, 16% and 15% in commercial office buildings, pharmaceutical facilities and higher education settings, respectively.  

In addition to energy consumption savings, benefits extend to convenience, occupant comfort, time savings for staff and reduction of human error. 

“For operators of office facilities, autonomous control means they no longer need to spend as much time making adjustments because the adjustments are made for them,” Dowd said. “Autonomous control resets any manual overrides, which might otherwise create suboptimal results and negative building impacts, especially if left to continue indefinitely.” 

Boland’s system enables facilities managers to deploy AI to continuously adjust setpoints, airflow and equipment staging based on real operating conditions, known as predictive optimization. It also identifies performance issues early, before they become comfort complaints or costly failures, Dowd said. 

“The system includes fault detection and diagnostics,” he said. “It can spot patterns that suggest equipment degradation. That gives property owners the chance to address issues before they turn into forced downtime.” 

Occupancy-Based Control 

While data centers, industrial buildings and pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities usually have standard and consistent occupancy over time, office buildings do not. That can be a headache for HVAC operations. 

Boland’s AI-driven system enables HVAC operations to align with how spaces are actually being used, reducing unnecessary conditioning, Dowd said. 

For healthcare and pharmaceutical settings, the system provides indoor air-quality support, which is a top facilities management priority. 

“AI can help balance ventilation, comfort and energy performance more effectively than human management alone,” Dowd said. 

Leveraging AI yields benefits across all building types. The system can optimize start and stop times, reduce simultaneous heating and cooling, improve chiller, air handler and zone-level coordination, and detect inefficient operations that might otherwise go unnoticed. 

“Facility teams can spend less time chasing alarms or manually tuning systems and more time focusing on higher-value building outcomes,” Dowd said. 

What's Needed 

There are steps to implementing AI for building performance. Many buildings have legacy infrastructure and poor data quality and lack cybersecurity, Dowd said. 

“Many buildings were not designed with the sensors, connectivity or controls architecture needed to fully support AI,” Dowd said. “AI depends on reliable building data. If sensors are missing, drifting or poorly configured, results can suffer. Ideally, a building automation system should be less than 5 years old to work well with AI.” 

For owners who use multiple vendors and several generations of equipment in one property, integration can be more complex — but not impossible, he added. 

Finally, human teams need training in how to interpret and act on AI-driven insights. 

“AI won’t replace building operators. It’s a new tool for them to use, but they need the proper training to be set up for success,” Dowd said. “The best outcomes come from pairing technology with education, processes and clear goals.” 

Responding In Real Time 

The hurdles shouldn’t prevent building owners from exploring these solutions and the benefits they bring, he added. 

“I see people taking a wait-and-see approach,” Dowd said. “But the truth is it’s not new. We’ve been implementing tech-driven energy-conservation strategies for decades.” 

When building systems can respond in real time to occupancy, weather, equipment performance and energy demand, the resulting decisions are far better than traditional rule-based controls and relying on fixed schedules and manual adjustments. 

With AI, efficiency gains are generated by small operational improvements made continuously over time, something that is difficult to sustain manually across a whole building portfolio, Dowd said. 

“It’s a clear opportunity for AI to deliver a measurable impact,” Dowd said. “Boland offers technical guidance for owners and facility teams to get to that goal, one step at a time.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Boland and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.