A Case Study on a Shopping Centre
Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) Equipment Optimization with Abound Predictive Insights
The Site
A regional shopping center in Brisbane with 170+ retailers, requiring consistent indoor comfort and reliable HVAC performance to support tenants and visitors.
The Challenge
- Limited real-time visibility across HVAC assets.
- Operations were largely reactive, with issues identified after alarms or tenant complaints and static control strategies.
- Need to reduce energy consumption while maintaining comfort.
- Lack of a data-driven approach to support optimal performance and smarter decision-making.
The Solution
Abound Predictive Insights was deployed on top of the existing WebCTRL version 8.0 building automation system. This enabled continuous monitoring and proactive optimization of connected HVAC equipment, including a Carrier 19XRV centrifugal chiller and a Carrier 30XW fixed-speed water-cooled screw chiller.
Operational improvements included:
- Trim & Respond control strategies
- Outdoor air reset integration with optimum start scheduling
- Targeted Building Management System tuning
- Data-driven maintenance and lifecycle planning
The optimization of equipment operations was aligned with the best practices in ASHRAE Guideline 36-2021.
The Impact
- Energy savings offset software deployment cost within 4 months
- 11.6K+ kWh energy savings achieved in first 3 months after deployment
- 8% reduction in Air Handling Unit (AHU) energy consumption in Q4 '25 versus Q4 '24
- Improved performance during peak summer load
- Launched insight-driven repairs and maintenance, supported by data-led upgrade decisions
- Implemented Air and water-side optimization
The shopping center transitioned from reactive maintenance to performance-led operations.