Why has advanced commercial HVAC control not yet achieved its promise?

TL;DR

Despite proven energy and emissions benefits, advanced commercial HVAC control has not been widely adopted, partly due to a lack of clear demonstration of its business value, requiring research to focus on this aspect.

Contribution

The paper emphasizes the need for research to demonstrate the business case for advanced HVAC control to accelerate deployment and adoption.

Findings

Research shows energy efficiency and emissions reduction benefits.

Barriers to adoption include lack of clear business value demonstration.

Industry and government discussions highlight future directions.

Abstract

Over the last two decades, research and development efforts have shown that advanced control of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment in commercial buildings can improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and turn buildings into active participants in the power grid. Despite these efforts, advanced commercial HVAC control has not yet seen widespread adoption. In this paper, we argue that the research community can help companies deploy advanced HVAC control at speed and scale by reorienting research efforts toward clearly demonstrating the business case for adoption. To support this argument, we draw on findings from the 2023 Intelligent Building Operations Workshop, which brought together researchers, entrepreneurs, and representatives from industry and government to discuss current business offerings, state-of-the-art field demonstrations, barriers to adoption, and future directions.