SINGAPORE, November 15, 2024 – Johnson Controls has announced a major expansion of its AI-driven capabilities within the OpenBlue Enterprise Manager suite, part of its OpenBlue digital ecosystem, designed to create smarter, more autonomous building solutions. The updates, now available, introduce the first customer-facing generative AI applications, advanced autonomous controls, and an improved user interface—laying the groundwork for further AI enhancements anticipated in 2025, which will aim to meet global performance standards, optimise equipment efficiency, and streamline compliance.
The latest AI advancements in OpenBlue Enterprise Manager enhance data insights and support customers in achieving greater efficiency and sustainability. These improvements build on a proven track record, with customers already achieving up to 30% reductions in energy expenditure, 20% reductions in maintenance costs, and optimised space utilisation by 10%.
“The integration of customer-facing AI features into OpenBlue represents a transformative shift in building management technology,” said Vijay Sankaran, Chief Technology Officer at Johnson Controls. “These new AI capabilities enable building owners and operators to drive operational efficiency and sustainability with unmatched control and insight. Our goal is to pioneer automation and deliver environments that are more responsive to the needs of our customers.”
A Forrester Consulting study recently commissioned by Johnson Controls highlighted a key challenge for building operators, with 90% of respondents noting that their building systems are not fully integrated—resulting in additional costs, time, and personnel requirements. The new OpenBlue capabilities address this by providing enhanced insights and seamless performance, including:
- Generative AI tools that proactively recommend impactful energy-saving initiatives.
- An upgraded user interface featuring a refined, personalised design that meets heightened accessibility standards.
- Expanded data analytics that deliver insights on occupant patterns across multiple buildings, aiding in better facility management.
- Enhanced air quality monitoring to support healthier environments through advanced sensor analytics.
- Automated setpoint adjustments based on fault diagnostics to improve energy efficiency and accelerate cost savings.
Using AI to Drive Energy Savings
The OpenBlue platform now integrates generative AI to identify the most effective energy-saving projects, bypassing the need for manual data analysis. This AI-driven feature anticipates building needs, such as adjusting energy usage in response to live weather data, to create actionable insights that help customers cut energy costs and carbon emissions.
“Our customers often tell us they struggle to know the right questions to ask an AI tool about their building,” said Julius Marchwicki, Johnson Controls’ Vice President of Digital Product Management. “Our generative AI automatically crafts the prompts based on our decades of experience in the commercial building sector.”
The platform also manages energy conservation initiatives across over 130 categories and supports utilities management with automatic error correction, addressing billing gaps and enhancing financial control.
Towards Autonomous Building Control
Newly introduced autonomous features within OpenBlue allow buildings to operate with minimal manual intervention. The system now automates processes traditionally managed manually, adjusting setpoints based on fault diagnostics to save energy and reduce costs. Users can customise constraints for autonomous actions or receive system recommendations, while also monitoring equipment performance from high-level views down to individual units. Autonomous control is now extended to a wider variety of central utility plant designs, providing detailed, real-time equipment insights.
Standard Operating Procedures are now digitalised within OpenBlue, accelerating workflows triggered by security or service needs, with support for both manual and autonomous actions.
Enhanced User Experience
The latest updates also focus on user experience, offering a streamlined design and more intuitive navigation. The enhanced interface provides comprehensive space usage insights, allowing building operators to optimise resources based on occupancy trends. Improved air quality monitoring capabilities now integrate with a wide range of sensor partners to create healthier indoor environments, while visitor analytics provide detailed insights to support more intelligent space planning.
OpenBlue Enterprise Manager empowers customers with a single, data-driven interface that enables real-time visibility and control, supporting regulatory compliance and safeguarding data security. These enhancements highlight Johnson Controls’ ongoing commitment to providing advanced, holistic solutions for the commercial building sector.