The Internet of Things is Nothing new for Johnson Controls

 

 

By Ada Ma
Head of Platform and Strategic Partnerships, Data Enabled Business, Johnson Controls

 

According to research and advisory firm Gartner, the Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects that contain embedded technology to communicate and sense or interact with their internal states or the external environment.

Most people probably believe Internet of Things is a recent development, but Johnson Controls has been doing similar work for 20 to 30 years.

IoT involves machine-to-machine communications, and we have been connecting systems and products to provide analytics to our customers for decades.

Today, because technology has become so inexpensive, getting connected is cheaper and easier for the average person. To continue to be a leader in this area, Johnson Controls has accelerated its IoT efforts to drive growth for the company.

One example of this is our Smart Connected Chillers, large air conditioning units used to cool buildings that range from hospitals to universities to commercial buildings. Our seasoned technicians use data analytics from the Smart Connected Chiller to keep buildings running efficiently and to maintain a continuously comfortable environment.

 

Most people probably believe Internet of Things, or IoT, is a recent development, but Johnson Controls has been doing similar work for 20 to 30 years.

Here’s how they work: Johnson Controls collects data from the chillers, stores it on our platform in the cloud and accesses it via an application used by our internal service technicians. With this app, they can evaluate the condition of the chillers and receive alerts to identify and solve potential problems with the units. We’ve recently launched a customer-facing portal so that they also can analyze data to better understand how their chillers are performing.

Because of Smart Connected Chillers, which run on top of Azure platform by Microsoft, Johnson Controls was recognized as a Microsoft Partner of the Year 2016 Finalist, Internet of Things (IoT) Award.

We’re also reimagining thermostats, which our founder, Warren Johnson, first invented in 1883. Our innovation in thermostats is called GLAS, which provides energy savings and air quality monitoring to everyday spaces, from homes to businesses. GLAS also collects data that will allow Johnson Controls to provide customers with additional benefits such as benchmarking, so they can view energy performance.

It’s this kind of forward-thinking that has made Johnson Controls a leader since it began in 1885, and will continue to help the company to keep its customers’ buildings cool, comfortable and secure, and their businesses running seamlessly.