Case Study: Johnson Controls achieves smarter, cloud-connected HVAC and improved air-quality management with Microsoft Azure

Creating smarter heating and cooling systems with cloud-connected IoT solution

Johnson Controls, a long‑standing leader in building technologies, set out to modernize the thermostat by bringing on‑premises controls and sensor data into the cloud. The company wanted a secure, scalable way to give homeowners and property managers remote, intuitive access to heating, cooling, and air‑quality information—while improving user experience and reducing deployment complexity across devices and building types.

Johnson Controls built the GLAS smart thermostat on Windows 10 IoT Core and Azure IoT solution accelerators, using Visual Studio, Xamarin, and UWP to deliver unified web and mobile apps with touch and voice control via Cortana. The result is remote monitoring and automated air‑quality management (VOC and CO2 detection, outdoor air data, alerts), simplified maintenance and lower costs, and a secure, scalable platform that supports deployment in homes and light commercial buildings and enables future edge processing and machine‑learning enhancements.

Johnson Controls

Joseph Ribbich

Program Lead, GLAS and Emerging Technologies