Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced today the launch of Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization, a cloud-based, closed-loop, machine learning solution that continuously studies a building’s energy consumption patterns and automatically adjusts to optimal energy saving settings without compromising occupant comfort levels. Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization, the first autonomous building solution focused on decreasing energy consumption, can deliver double-digit energy savings, decrease a building’s carbon footprint, and can be implemented without significant upfront capital expenses or changes to a building’s current operational processes.

Achieving Energy Savings Beyond Standard Techniques

Energy consumption in commercial buildings is a significant issue: buildings account for more than 36% of global final energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO₂ emissions.1 Additionally, HVAC often presents the largest opportunity for energy savings in a commercial building.²

Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization autonomously and continually optimizes a building’s internal set points across hundreds of assets every 15 minutes to evaluate whether a building’s HVAC system is running at peak efficiency. When it finds a need to make an adjustment, it analyzes factors such as time of day, weather, occupancy levels and dozens of other data points to determine the optimal settings per building and makes calculated decisions 96 times per 24-hour period for every building in a portfolio, 365 days-a-year across the system of assets. Repeated results have shown double-digit reductions of HVAC related consumption while not impacting customer comfort.

“Buildings aren’t static steel and concrete – they’re dynamic ecosystems and their energy needs fluctuate based on ever-changing variables like weather and occupancy,” said David Trice, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Connected Buildings. “With Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization, we’re evolving building operations far beyond what would be possible even with a robust team of engineers and the rules they code in their building management system. By employing the latest self-learning algorithms coupled with autonomous control, we can help building portfolio owners fine-tune their energy expenditures to drive efficiencies and create more sustainable practices for our customers.”

System Agnostic Optimization and Advancing the Latest Building IoT Technologies

During a pilot at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization demonstrated an initial 10% in energy savings, along with a reduction in complaints related to overcooling. HBMSU is the first accredited smart university in the UAE and is known for its technology and innovation programs.

Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization was applied to HBMSU’s existing building management system which uses competitor technology demonstrating the platform’s open architecture and hardware agnostic capabilities. The additional energy savings are significant as HBMSU is regarded as a highly smart, energy efficient building with fully connected lighting, cooling, building management, power and efficiency control that is optimized based on real-time occupancy. The pilot also uncovered local control issues with the chiller plant and fresh air handling unit that were not adjusting to set points.

Following the pilot, HBMSU selected Honeywell as its preferred technology provider for energy optimization. The collaboration will leverage Honeywell Forge as the IoT platform to expand cutting-edge technology adoption such as advanced Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and data analytics across the University’s campus. The platform will provide greater visibility into its building portfolio performance, lifecycle predictability and extension. HBMSU will also benefit from early testing and rollout of new Honeywell IoT technologies, including enhancing the curriculum and learning experience of its students with the technology, furthering its goal of driving innovation in the region.

Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) said: “We remain steadfast with our commitment in Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University to deploy the latest technical and smart innovations on our campus to ensure the provision of the highest levels of operational efficiency to match the best in the world. We were pleasantly surprised by the positive results that we saw from Honeywell Forge, which enjoys a high ability to drive further energy savings beyond our achievable optimization with the techniques we utilize.”

Al Awar added: “There is no doubt that consolidating our partnership with Honeywell will contribute effectively in the move to support the development of artificial intelligence (AI) models for our building automation and the need to provide our students with practical applications about the role that artificial intelligence and machine technology will play in upgrading the efficiency and sustainability of buildings. We look forward to cooperating with leading companies such as Honeywell that support our vision of providing quality education for creators and innovators of the future, drawing on the vision and guidance of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and the President of the University, to invest in the youth as they are the driving force towards the achievement of comprehensive and sustainable development.”

The collaboration supports HBMSU’s commitment to the UAE’s Strategic Vision and UAE Energy Strategy 2050 to improve energy efficiency of individuals and corporations by 40% by 2050. It also supports Dubai’s university free zones strategy announced by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, to provide economic and creative free zones in universities, encouraging universities and businesses to collaborate more closely and developing entrepreneurial employees of the future.

“We are honored to extend our relationship with HBMSU to not only continue improving the performance of its buildings but to also collaborate to give its students first-hand experience with our technologies,” said George Bou Mitri, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Building Technologies Middle East, Turkey and Africa. “We are strongly committed to advancing the adoption of AI-based solutions in the UAE and across the region.”

Click here for more information on Honeywell Forge Energy Optimization.

Caption: Dr. Fahad Al Saadi, Vice Chancellor for University Advancement, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) (right) and George Bou Mitri, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Building Technologies, Middle East, Turkey and Africa (left) sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Innovation Arabia 2020 to leverage Honeywell Forge as an IoT platform to adopt advanced Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and data analytics across the University’s campus. Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of HBMSU (standing), presided over the signing.