May 2025 Chapter Meeting: AI in HVAC Industry: Past, Present and Future

Topic: AI in HVAC Industry: Past, Present and Future

Early AI applications in the HVAC industry started with knowledge-based systems or expert systems applications for HVAC system selection, design and fault-diagnosis based on heuristics. At the same time, data analytics were explored for time-series data analysis for predicting energy use and using BAS data for fault detection and diagnosis. Recent advancements in conversational AI and machine learning techniques have taken the world by storm where every aspect of our work and daily lives will be impacted by these next generation AI technologies. During the early 1990’s, knowledge-based systems and AI application promises fell short of expectations in the HVAC industry. However, with cloud-based computing, internet information resources, and rapid advancements in natural language processing and conversational AI, the HVAC industry can now solve many challenging problems with analysis, design and operation. This presentation will review the history, terminology, concepts, development tools and application of recent advancements in AI for ASHRAE members; and provide an overview of AI Chatbot and machine learning technologies for HVAC industry applications.

Presenter: Krishnan Gowri, ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer

ASHRAE DL Profile

Krishnan Gowri has more than thirty years of experience in the construction industry as a building science and building performance expert. Krishnan received his undergraduate degree in Civil and Structural engineering from Annamalai University in India and obtained his Masters and Doctoral degrees in Building Engineering from Center for Building Studies at Concordia University, Montreal, Que. He is a student of Dr. Paul Fazio, founding Director of Center for Building Studies. As a graduate student, Krishnan conducted research in integrated building design and advanced computer applications for the construction industry. He was an Assistant Professor at Concordia University and taught building science, matrix analysis of structures and integrated building design courses.

Since 1995, Krishnan was part of the Building Energy Codes Program as Senior Research Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, WA. During his almost 20 year tenure at PNNL Krishnan led the energy codes software development team and was a key contributor and developer of COMcheck and REScheck tools, widely used to demonstrate compliance to ASHRAE 90.1 and IECC energy codes. He was instrumental in simplifying the energy code compliance calculation process, and has helped industry professionals navigate regulatory frameworks with ease. Krishnan also managed a team of energy efficiency experts conducting energy performance evaluations of GSA owned buildings and helped develop a new program known as Targeted E4 (Energy Efficiency Expert Evaluations). Krishnan was Principal Engineer of Autodesk Building Performance Analysis team and contributed to the integration of cloud-based energy analysis in Revit. This included automatic EnergyPlus model creation from Revit models. Currently Krishnan leads the Building Performance team at Intertek providing thermal, moisture and energy assessments of existing buildings and reviewing new building designs to improve performance.

Krishnan has been a member of ASHRAE since 1995 and has served on various technical and society committees. Krishnan is a recipient of ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award and recognized as an ASHRAE Fellow in 2017. He is currently the Chair of 2027 Applications Handbook Subcommittee and serves as a member of the Board of Governors of ASHRAE Puget Sound Chapter.

Beyond his academic, research and industry pursuits, Krishnan spends his leisure volunteering for non-profit educational organizations and anything tennis – as a player, stringer, certified official and coach.