Honeywell AI to cut cooling demand at Singapore resort

Honeywell and Resorts World Sentosa have launched an artificial intelligence programme to predict and manage cooling demand at the Singapore resort's district cooling plant. The project makes the site the first tourism destination in Singapore to adopt predictive optimisation technology for district cooling.

The initiative includes three trials across the integrated resort, which receives about 17 million visitors a year. They cover AI-based adjustment of air-conditioning and ventilation, forecasting cooling demand at the district cooling plant, and a data platform that identifies where energy is being wasted and suggests operational changes for facilities teams.

Cooling is one of the largest energy loads for resorts, hotels and entertainment venues, particularly in tropical climates such as Singapore's. The system is designed to help the site avoid producing more chilled water than needed while maintaining indoor comfort across hotels, attractions and public spaces.

The work builds on a connected-building deployment introduced at the resort in 2023. That earlier phase shifted building operations to a cloud-based system, while the latest adds artificial intelligence and analytics aimed at improving efficiency and supporting the resort's 2030 carbon-neutrality target.

Two locations already using the air-conditioning element of the project are Resorts World Convention Centre and Illumination's Minion Land at Universal Studios Singapore. The district cooling trial is expected to determine how much cooling is needed and which equipment should operate at specific times.

The data element will use Honeywell Forge to combine energy information from across the resort. The companies said this should give facilities teams a single view of consumption patterns and areas where energy use can be reduced.

Broader push

The project is also tied to Honeywell's Singapore Sustainable Buildings Centre of Excellence, established with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board. The centre is being used to develop and test the systems in what the companies describe as a complex hospitality and entertainment environment.

The collaboration reflects wider interest in using AI to manage heavy building energy demand, especially as operators look for ways to cut costs and emissions without affecting customer experience. District cooling systems, which distribute chilled water across large sites, are a particular focus because small efficiency gains can have a noticeable effect on total energy use.

Honeywell has pursued similar building-efficiency work elsewhere, including a long-running partnership with the Sydney Opera House. It said that work contributed to the venue becoming one of the first World Heritage-listed buildings to achieve a 6-Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.

Munish Suri, President, Building Automation, India and APAC, Honeywell Technologies, said the company sees coordinated system management as the next step beyond automating individual assets.

"The next frontier in building efficiency is not simply automating individual systems such as HVAC, chillers and district energy infrastructure. It is enabling interconnected systems to work intelligently together, continuously and proactively optimising energy use as conditions change," said Mr Munish Suri, President, Building Automation, India and APAC, Honeywell Technologies.

He said the work at the Singapore resort links operational objectives with guest comfort.

"Resorts World Sentosa is demonstrating how sustainability and operational excellence can reinforce, rather than compete with, the guest experience. By combining RWS' deep operational expertise with Honeywell Technologies' capabilities in AI, energy optimisation and intelligent buildings, our three co-innovation concepts are putting this vision into practice. This represents an important step in RWS' journey from automation to autonomy," said Mr Suri.

Kess Chiang, Senior Vice President, Resort Services, Resorts World Sentosa, said facilities teams were looking beyond reactive maintenance.

"Facilities management goes beyond fixing things when they break. It means staying ahead - using technology to make the resort more comfortable, reliable and efficient for every guest," said Mr Kess Chiang, Senior Vice President, Resort Services, Resorts World Sentosa.

He cited temperature management as one practical use of the system.

"A simple example is room and venue temperature. It should adjust itself to humidity, airflow and changing weather conditions, rather than rely on a fixed setting. The goal is that our guests should never feel too hot or too cold, while using only the energy that is needed. That is how facilities management can lead from the front in improving guest comfort and supporting responsible growth," said Mr Chiang.