Industrials/Multi-Industry: HVAC, data centers, on-site power gen – conference takeaways from ASHRAE

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Industrials/Multi-Industry: HVAC, data centers, on-site power gen – conference takeaways from ASHRAE

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Industrials/Multi-Industry

HVAC, data centers, on-site power gen –

conference takeaways from ASHRAE

Industry Overview

Takeaways from HVAC tech-focused industry conference 01 July 2026

We attended ASHRAE’s Annual Conference on June 29-30 in Austin where we heard Equity

from industry executives, engineers, and researchers. Several meetings explored HVAC Americas

challenges at data centers. Key takeaways: 1) Commissioning and workforce are seen as Industrials/Multi-Industry

meaningful service opportunities and seen as a key differentiator. 2) Discussions of on- Andrew Obin

site power generation have increased with some participants needing it to startup on Research Analyst

time. 3) Liquid cooling and modular data centers are seen as the path forward for BofAS+1 646 855 1817

continued growth in data centers. Within our coverage we view Buy-rated Vertiv (VRT) andrew.obin@bofa.com

and Eaton (ETN) as the chief beneficiaries from data center growth. Buy-rated Johnson David Ridley-Lane, CFA

Research Analyst

Controls (JCI), Trane Technologies (TT), Madison Air (MAIR), SPX Technologies (SPXC) BofAS

and Neutral-rated Carrier (CARR) also have exposure. +1 646 855 2907

david.ridleylane@bofa.com

Commissioning & labor a pain point; but a service opp DevinResearchLeonardAnalyst

Multiple panel discussions highlighted challenges on commissioning and workforce for BofAS

data centers and liquid cooling specifically. Our sense is that the market is willing to pay +1devin.leonard@bofa.com646 855 3698

a premium for derisking commissioning and service, we view VRT (see note here) and TT

(see note on recent visit to service training site here) as key beneficiaries.