— Johnson Controls highligted new thermal management technologies for mission-critical industries at the 2026 AHR Expo in Las Vegas. Anthony Seiler, global director of data centers strategy at Johnson Controls, emphasized that the data center market is expanding rapidly, with expectations that it could reach a trillion-dollar industry by late 2027 during the company's press conference on day two of the AHR Expo.

Seiler noted that Johnson Controls focuses its strategy through three core priorities: innovation, scalability, and consistency. Seiler said customers are scaling globally and require lifecycle support with strict service-level agreements, along with consistent implementation and service across major markets worldwide.

Seiler also highlighted several key gaps Johnson Controls is working to address for data center operators, including optimizing the “thermal chain” through heat capture, transfer, rejection, reuse, and recovery. He said the company is also focused on accelerating time to value — helping customers move faster from construction to revenue generation — and unlocking stranded power through heat recovery and onsite energy reuse to improve Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE).

"Things that are important to us and important to customers are lower power usage, lower water usage, less sound, but also aligning with what the actual data center customers need," said Aaron Lewis, vice president and general manager, Applied Equipment, Johnson Controls. "From a commercial perspective, what's changed, right? What we've seen today in the data centers is much different than what we've seen in the past. Four years ago, when the data center boom really took off, we were applying commercial solutions to a new application. We were taking existing technologies and applying them in a place where data centers have a different ask — different inlet and outlet temperatures, more heat transfer, and different ways of moving the heat, but we had to use what we had available in the market at that time to be able to account for the demand. What you're seeing is this next generation now. We're looking at the second phase of the design cycle, which is purpose-built, purpose-driven equipment and controls solutions meant for data centers. So, we're able to optimize those things that are most important to the market."

Mihir Nandkeolyar, director of technology strategy for Data Center Thermal Management Products at Johnson Controls, said data center growth was driven first by cloud computing and now by the rapid rise of artificial intelligence workloads. He explained that AI-driven facilities require more purpose-built thermal management equipment beyond traditional commercial HVAC approaches, prompting Johnson Controls to make strategic investments beginning around 2020.

Nandkeolyar highlighted the development of the YORK YVAM air-cooled chiller platform, which brought high-efficiency compressor technology into a water-saving design, as well as the acquisition of Silent-Aire to support hyperscaler-specific air handling solutions. He noted that Johnson Controls has continued expanding capacity and global applicability through lower GWP refrigerant options and regional voltage flexibility, culminating in the newly announced 3.5MW YORK YDAM chiller designed to reduce installation complexity and accelerate time to revenue for large-scale campuses. He also previewed a forthcoming 10MW water-cooled chiller engineered to reject heat through dry coolers rather than evaporative towers, supporting higher-temperature operation and reducing water use, sound, and embodied carbon.

Nandkeolyar added that Johnson Controls is also focused on heat reuse strategies, including absorption chillers that can convert waste heat from onsite power generation into chilled water, helping data center operators reduce electrical demand and improve overall energy efficiency.

Also announced at the show, announced the YORK YK-HT, a high-temperature centrifugal chiller engineered for data centers and large industrial, pharmaceutical, and health care campuses, delivers a wide operating range from a single driveline with condenser leaving fluid temperatures up to 165° F and up to 110° F of lift. Designed to support closed-loop heat rejection with dry coolers, the YK-HT enables heat-pump and heat-recovery applications that can offset more than 35 MMBtu per hour of wasted thermal energy while reducing carbon emissions and energy costs.

Johnson Controls said pairing the system with dry coolers can eliminate millions of gallons of annual cooling-tower water use, while also reducing dry cooler requirements by up to 60% and lowering onsite noise by as much as 20 dBA for water-constrained AI and mission-critical facilities. The unit can simultaneously produce 44° F chilled water and 140° F hot water in a single packaged platform, exceeds ASHRAE efficiency requirements, and simplifies installation and service by reducing rotating components by 50%. With a footprint nearly 30% smaller than most alternatives, low-GWP refrigerant options, Smart Ready connectivity, and global manufacturing and support, the YK-HT is positioned for scalable, efficient thermal management in high-demand environments.

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