The ObjectiveHCL team has been regularly monitoring the HVAC industry for some time. This white paper lists key findings with respect to observed trends and challenges faced by the HVAC industry. This is followed by sections on how HCL's internally developed IoTF solution can effectively address some of these challenges. HVAC Industry: Market Trends, Challenges and Drivers: After monitoring the HCL domain, experts and business managers have been actively monitoring the HVAC industry. Some of the key findings of the recent analysis are listed below: a) Increased focus on energy saving and demand forecasting: Since the prerequisite for any effective management is metering, there is a great emphasis on measuring and reporting energy consumption at an increasingly granular level. The increased focus on energy usage is also due to the fact that the level of energy consumption in HVAC appliances is comparatively higher. b) Slow economic recovery leading to a moderation in demand for HVAC systems and leading to a greater emphasis on energy saving: the global economic recovery has been slow, especially in the United States and Europe. This, combined with reduced incomes and high energy bills, has impacted the overall demand for HVAC systems.c) Greater shift towards smart grids, smart meters and building automation: Smart grids help in smart distribution resulting in minimal losses while real-time measurement and reporting of consumption time is achieved by smart meters.d) Cost reduction through preventative maintenance and remote diagnostics: HVAC systems are among the largest consumers of energy, indicating that these systems can be a source of good savings if overall performance is increased and faults are detected timely. Cost savings... half paper... managed by the framework are listed below: • Remote access and monitoring • In-memory analytics • Real-time subscription management • Configurable events, alerts (email, SMS) and tracking capabilities planning • Device provisioning and configuration • Complex event processing • Remote firmware upgrade • Video monitoring and camera control • Gateway supported connectivity interfaces/protocols o SD card for local log/data storage o Zigbee o Wi-Fi o RS-232 /RS-485 or Ethernet or Bluetooth or USB 2.0 (host and OTG) or FlashReferences:1. How Big Data and Analytics Change the Game for HVAC Systems (http://www.traneoregon.com/news/how-big-data-and-anayltyics-chang-the-game-for-hvac-systems/ )2. Better HVAC systems can deliver on the promise of the Smart Grid (http://www.demandresponsesmartgrid.org/Resources/Documents/NTM%20Presentations/Eugene%20Smithart%20(Trane)%20-%20NTM%20A-2.pdf )