How to Rethink Energy Demand to Build a Sustainable, Resilient Future

Every year around the world, buildings and industry waste hundreds of billions of dollars on electricity we aren’t using. Research shows that about 30% of electricity is wasted after the meter. That’s energy, emissions and cost our world can’t afford to waste. These are not only avoidable losses - they present a clear call to rethink how we manage energy demand.

Meanwhile, global electricity demand is forecast to grow at close to 4% annually, a surge equivalent to adding the consumption of Japan to the world’s grid every year. While renewable energy is advancing at an unprecedented pace - clean sources powered 40 percent of the world’s consumption last year - the variability of supply is driving the need to prioritize demand-side management.

Unlocking the value of global energy demand management

As leaders convene at the upcoming World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, the formation of a new Working Group on Energy Demand Management and Demand Flexibility offers a pivotal moment. This diverse group of developers, technology providers, energy companies and manufacturers will define a shared vision: transforming passive energy consumption into dynamic, intelligent energy management.

By enabling every building, factory and data center to be more flexible and responsive in their interactions with the grid, we can cut costs, reduce emissions, create new market opportunities and build greater resilience into our energy systems.

At Trane Technologies, we see this transformation in action every day. Our purpose is to boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world. As a global climate innovator, we deliver energy-efficient technologies and solutions at scale, reducing energy use, saving cost and powering sustainable performance. We are transforming energy management and sustainability in buildings, industry, data centers and transport. And we are infusing artificial intelligence (AI) across our businesses for smarter, more efficient and more sustainable outcomes for customers, communities and the planet.

Advancing thermal efficiency with AI

Propelled by our target to reduce our customers’ carbon footprint by 1 gigaton of emissions, our solutions convert energy waste into savings and reduced emissions. This goal shapes everything we do, from product innovation to strategic partnerships. As rapid adoption of AI drives new waves of data centers and infrastructure, the energy required is rapidly increasing, creating new challenges for cooling.

Advanced cooling technologies like liquid cooling and thermal battery storage not only boost the efficiency of data centers, they enable these assets to operate as flexible, resilient participants in a larger energy ecosystem. In some cases in Europe, we’re even partnering with communities to transform waste heat into a resource, heating local schools and homes while reducing energy demand.

Trane Technologies is collaborating with NVIDIA on the industry’s first comprehensive thermal management system reference design for gigawatt-scale AI factories, helping set new standards for performance, scalability and rapid deployment. This new approach enables data center operators to simultaneously manage power, water and land resources, allowing for continuously optimized performance, energy efficiency and sustainability.

We are also leveraging AI to optimize the energy needed to run complex buildings. In a recent pilot with newly commissioned Amazon Grocery fulfillment facilities in North America, our BrainBox AI autonomous HVAC solution reduced energy use nearly 15%, and deployment is planned for the remaining Amazon Grocery fulfillment and distribution centers across more than 30 sites in the U.S. These advancements show the profound impact that precise energy demand management, powered by AI, can have on operational costs and carbon reduction.