How Dewakar Combines AI and Energy Innovation to Drive Sustainability

This is the kind of transformational work that defines BrainBox AI, a business within Trane Technologies. BrainBox AI specializes in AI-driven technology that optimizes HVAC systems in the built environment.  

After gaining his Mechanical Engineering degree from Concordia University in Montreal in 2020 and gaining experience at Natural Resources Canada using machine learning to predict building energy behavior, Dewakar joined BrainBox AI. Drawn by the opportunity to make a tangible impact, he now leads a 13-member team working to deploy solutions that leverage data collection and deep learning algorithms to optimize building energy consumption. It's this combination of passion and technical expertise that inspires him to tackle challenges others might see as impossible. 

He's put that approach into practice by developing a prototyping platform that helps teams across BrainBox AI test new solutions quickly. "This platform lets us throw ideas on paper to see what would work in real life," Dewakar explains. "It saves us from a lot of iterations in the final product." Now essential to the Global Deployment team's work, it's an example of how Trane Technologies encourages hands-on innovation at every level. 

Maximizing the energy-saving potential of AI 

The work Dewakar's team tackles often involves venturing into uncharted territory. When customers seek solutions for integrating AI-driven energy optimization across massive portfolios of buildings, they're often asking for something that's never been attempted at that scale before. For Dewakar and his team, this challenge represents an opportunity to push the boundaries of what's possible. 

"There's no technical reason this can't be done," is a phrase Dewakar finds himself saying often. It reflects the problem-solving mindset that defines both his approach and the culture at Trane Technologies. His team has pioneered some of the first projects to remotely control industrial-grade HVAC equipment at scale in the buildings industry, demonstrating that AI-enabled solutions can transform energy usage patterns across entire portfolios without requiring massive capital investments. 

A notable example of this innovative work is the collaboration with Dollar Tree, a Fortune 500 discount retailer committed to reducing its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2032. The challenge was unprecedented: use AI to integrate and control energy use across thousands of Dollar Tree's North American stores, something no one had ever attempted at that scale before. 

“This level of remote control and optimization had never been done at this scale," Dewakar said. The project turned out to be one of the first to start controlling industrial-grade HVAC equipment remotely in the buildings industry.  

The team accomplished this by leveraging Trane Autonomous Control, powered by BrainBox AI, which uses cloud-based technology to integrate with existing building management systems and enable remote control of rooftop HVAC units. One of the biggest advantages: it requires no additional capital expenditure to implement. 

Within the first two months, 400 sites were live and operating autonomously. Energy consumption started dropping as Dollar Tree gained portfolio-wide visibility into their energy use. The initial pilot alone covered 6.6 million square feet across 18 states and 616 stores—from New England to California—demonstrating the solution's scalability across diverse climates. To date, the project has saved 7,980,916 kilowatt hours of energy, over $1 million in cost and reduced carbon emissions by 5,632 tons. 

"Projects like this remind me why this work matters. We're not just deploying technology—we're helping solve real sustainability challenges at a scale that makes a tangible difference,” said Dewakar. 

Finding innovation in a culture of collaboration 

For Dewakar, what makes these forward leaps both achievable and enjoyable is Trane Technologies' culture of innovation, what he calls a "let's do it together" attitude. 

"There are a lot of really smart people here who know what they are doing but take time out of their day to listen to everyone," Dewakar says. "I get to experiment with things, to try something new. That environment allows us to push boundaries and achieve things that might seem impossible at first." 

The Dollar Tree project has become the new benchmark for building management system integrations, demonstrating that this kind of AI technology can scale not only quickly but in a way that doesn't require massive investment.  

Building solutions for the global challenge 

As much as Dewakar has accomplished in his five years helping to connect customers with new and emerging technologies, what excites him most is what the future holds for AI, especially in terms of helping the global cause of carbon reduction and sustainability. 

Dewakar's work directly contributes to Trane Technologies' Gigaton Challenge, the company's commitment to help customers reduce one billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Every optimization his team implements, every building they connect, every kilowatt hour they save brings that goal closer to reality. 

His story demonstrates what's possible when passion meets innovation in a supportive culture. As Trane Technologies continues to challenge what's possible for a sustainable world, leaders like him are helping turn that vision into reality—one optimization, one building, one kilowatt hour at a time.