Honeywell and NXP Semiconductors are working together to promote smart energy management in buildings

     Honeywell and NXP Semiconductors announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2024) to collaborate on optimizing how commercial buildings sense and control energy consumption safely.

     According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), building operations account for 30% of global final energy consumption and 26% of global energy-related emissions, so decisions made today will have a significant impact on future energy use and energy savings potential. A growing number of smart energy solutions today use machine learning and data analytics to enhance building automation and energy efficiency.

     By integrating NXP's industrial-grade application processors, which support neural networks, into Honeywell's building management system (BMS), the partnership will help improve the intelligence of building operations. The first phase of the MOU focuses on the Honeywell Optimizer Suite, a highly flexible, future-proof building control and automation platform.

     The collaboration will further enable intelligent energy solutions based on artificial intelligence/machine learning and data analytics to enhance building automation and improve energy efficiency while guiding service technicians. The ultimate goal of the collaboration is to leverage the capabilities of NXP's i.MX chipset, which supports neural networks, to further enhance Honeywell's BMS product family.

     Suresh Venkatarayalu, Honeywell's chief technology officer, said: "Buildings are increasingly relying on data and automated operational control capabilities to improve sustainability and operational efficiency. With NXP's latest machine learning solutions, we are able to provide our customers with superior building automation technology."

     Lars Reger, Chief Technology Officer, NXP Semiconductors, said: "Improving the sustainability and comfort of smart buildings has never been more important. NXP's advanced portfolio of secure, connected processing solutions is powered by an easy-to-use, rapid AI model development tool and service platform to configure and manage iot devices throughout the building management lifecycle. "The powerful capabilities of NXP's solutions, combined with Honeywell's expertise as one of the leading building management solution providers, mark an important milestone in our shared vision of creating a smarter, more connected world for all."

     Honeywell will build on NXP's scalable semiconductor and software solutions, such as i.MX 8M application processors and i.MX RT crossover microcontrollers, to help enable secure real-time observation, learning and adaptation, enhancing analytical decision making in field BMS devices that manage critical building systems. With Honeywell Forge analytics solutions for cloud-based big data analytics, buildings can increasingly leverage better foresight and insight to optimize energy use and improve sustainability outcomes.