Insights From an Expert: A Holistic Approach to Building Solutions

Q. What is one of the biggest challenges you hear customers facing about their building operations and energy?
A. Our customers frequently find themselves juggling the expectations of key stakeholders, managing aging infrastructure, and ensuring compliance with evolving regulations. This becomes a balancing act for a lot of our customers. As a result, the biggest challenge often lies in determining their project priorities and identifying the best starting point.

Q.  How does Trane help customers navigate the prioritization of projects to address this challenge?
A. Our unique approach revolves around the art of asking essential questions. When we dive deep into a customer’s needs, we uncover not only the surface challenges they initially convey but also any underlying issues. By solving their immediate concerns and suggesting long-term opportunities, we can provide tailored solutions that extend beyond our customer's initial expectations. These solutions may encompass a blend of Services, Systems, and Controls, with our teams working together to recommend the right mix to meet our customer’s needs. Our ultimate goal is to propose a holistic plan that helps our customers to achieve the most cost-effective ownership. We only find the right solutions by asking the right questions.

Q. Can you share an example where this approach really paid off for a customer
A. Of course. One in particular that comes to mind is a customer in with nine buildings, more than 180 service sites and 1,983 licensed beds - system wide. We had service agreements in place with this system, but they also had some new decarbonization initiatives they were trying to get a handle on. They also knew that the expansion of their system was imminent. The discussions started off with a request to simply replace the old chillers in their facilities. After some deeper discussions to really understand their needs and long-term goals, our team recommended that they install a Cogeneration System that allows heat as a byproduct of electricity to be captured and utilized. We also recommended they install controls on their equipment. Through valuable insights, controls allowed them to save energy and money, keep their patients comfortable and increase uptime. These recommendations, coupled with helping the customer take advantage of utility rebates, drastically changed their outcome. A conversation that started with a simple equipment request from the customer, resulted in millions in net annual savings, double digit carbon footprint reduction and increased resiliency.

Q. What sets Trane apart from its competitors?
A. Definitely our people. We’re the only OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) with our own team of technicians across such a large footprint. These highly skilled, highly trained technicians are a testament to our expertise. We are also vertically integrated within our industry, meaning we not only manufacture cutting-edge equipment but also provide seamless service for the same equipment. This gives us room to drive innovation while simultaneously offering recommendations that align with our customer’s needs.