How Trane Technologies Uses AI to Make Buildings More Autonomous

Riaz Raihan (0:00)

We have a very simple approach to using AI.

We call it the three pillar approach. The first pillar is AI for growth. The second pillar is AI for employee experience. And the third pillar is AI for business transformation.

Peter High (0:18)

Welcome to Technovation. I'm Peter High, President of Metis Strategy. My guest today is Riaz Raihan. Riaz is the Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer of Trane Technologies, a company that is a climate innovator that generated more than $21 billion in revenue in 2025

Through its Trane and Thermoking brands, the company provides heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, building controls, and transport refrigeration solutions designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions across buildings, homes, and transportations. As Chief Digital Officer, Riaz leads the company's digital strategy and works to deepen its technology, data, artificial intelligence, and connected product capabilities, helping customers improve energy and asset performance, lower operating costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Riaz joined Trane Technologies in 2023 after holding senior leadership roles spanning digital transformation, AI, the Internet of Things, product development, and general management. In this conversation, we'll discuss responsible AI, the relationship between AI and energy consumption, the potential for intelligent buildings to support a more resilient electrical grid, and how Trane Technologies is using BrainBox AI to make HVAC systems more autonomous and efficient. Riaz, welcome to Technovation. It's great to speak with you today.

Riaz Raihan (1:31)

It's a real pleasure to be here.

Peter High (1:33)

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Riaz Raihan (2:50)

Yeah, sure, Peter. Trane Technologies is a 130-year-old company, and we've been around a long time, and we started off in the HVAC business and refrigeration for both buildings as well as transportation. Over the years, we have developed a broad array of services, and over the past couple of decades, we've developed very strong competency and controls in digital services.

Through that process, we've made great innovations in sustainability, in driving services that help reduce carbon in buildings and in transportation, and I have the privilege of leading our digital business at Trane Technologies.

Peter High (3:33)

We'll talk about that role if you would, Riaz. No two Chief Digital Officer roles are quite alike. I'd love to understand how it applies in your case.

Riaz Raihan (3:40)

Sure. We're a big company. As you said, we do well over $20 billion in revenue. We have over 45,000 colleagues. We do manufacturing in over 40 locations. About half of those are here in the United States, and the other half are in different parts of the world.

We manufacture in-region, for-region.

By the same token, we have a big investment in digital as well. My role as Chief Digital Officer is to build products and services that help our customers drive value. We have a sizable digital business where we actually sell these products and services. BrainBox is a good example of that. But there's more to it. There's enterprise asset management, there's telematics, and there's a whole slew of services that we offer through Trane Cloud. We actually bring this to market. We are a software company as well as being an HVAC manufacturer.

Peter High (4:41)

I wanted to ask you, Riaz, connected HVAC systems can generate highly detailed information about buildings or occupants. I'd love to understand how you use that data.

There must be a treasure trove of it. I'd love to understand some of the basics of how you draw that down and derive insights from it.