Connhex for HVAC Equipment Manufacturers
The global HVAC1 systems market is growing rapidly, from USD 202.20 billion in 2023 to an estimated USD 365.54 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 6.80%2.
Behind this growth is a structural shift: HVAC is no longer just hardware. Customers expect connected products, intuitive apps, remote control and measurable energy savings.
For HVAC equipment manufacturers, this creates both an opportunity and a challenge.
- The opportunity: connected products open entirely new revenue streams beyond the hardware sale.
- The challenge: building the digital infrastructure to support them, while managing product portfolios that often span devices from different suppliers, each using a different communication protocol or data format.
Connhex is built specifically for device manufacturers, providing a complete IoT platform that unifies your entire HVAC product portfolio under a single infrastructure, regardless of how many product lines, protocols, or data formats sit behind it.
Let's explore what this means for manufacturers, installers, and end users.
HVAC device manufacturers
For an HVAC manufacturer, an integrated IoT solution is not a nice-to-have: it's the infrastructure that determines how competitive your products are, how efficiently your support team operates and whether you can unlock revenue beyond the hardware sale.
One platform for your entire product portfolio
Most HVAC manufacturers rarely build every unit they sell. Heat pumps, air handling units, fan coil controllers: different product lines often come from different suppliers, each using different communication protocols and data formats.
Without a unified platform, this creates fragmentation: separate backends, separate apps, no shared visibility across the portfolio. Connhex solves this with its Mapper, which normalizes incoming data from any source into a consistent internal representation regardless of the original format or protocol.
The result is a single app and management system across your entire catalog, no matter how many underlying unit families or suppliers sit behind it.
You don't have to start from scratch
If you already have a cloud infrastructure in place, you don't have to replace it. Connhex is designed for modularity: individual services, such as Provisioning and Remote Init, can be integrated selectively into your existing stack with minimal changes to your own systems.
Seitron, an Italian manufacturer of wireless thermostats and thermoregulation systems, did exactly this: rather than rebuilding their cloud from scratch, they integrated Connhex Provisioning and Remote Init into their existing infrastructure, with only a few updates to their own services.
In the software world, we tend to use the word modularity too often: in this case, it was more than appropriate. It was nothing but modularity that allowed us such a fast integration of a critical service.
Senior Software Engineer - Seitron
Multiple product lines, one backend
If your company operates multiple product lines or divisions3, Connhex handles this natively. A single backend can serve completely separate, fully branded applications for each division, each with its own data model, access rules, and user experience.
Astrel Group runs four distinct business units (Energy, Home, Wellness, Fire) on a shared Connhex infrastructure, with a fully customized application for each. The platform's clear separation between data collection and user-facing apps was a key factor in making this possible.
I discovered Connhex after an in-depth technological scouting phase. It has proven to be by far the best solution for our needs: nothing even comes close.
CTO - Astrel Group
Keep your devices up to date, remotely
With Connhex Edge running on your devices, you can deliver over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates to any unit in the field: fixing bugs, adding features and responding to evolving regulatory requirements (such as energy efficiency standards) without dispatching a technician.
Know how your products actually perform
Once a device leaves the factory, most manufacturers lose visibility into how it behaves in the field. Support tickets tell you what broke, but not why — or how long the problem had been building.
Connhex gives manufacturers continuous monitoring of deployed devices: performance metrics, usage patterns, anomaly detection. This real-world feedback loop feeds directly into product development, making each new generation of devices better than the last. An industrial electronics manufacturer uses Connhex for exactly this purpose: read their story here.
From hardware to recurring revenue
Connhex enables a shift from a product-based to a service-based business model. With Connhex Pay, you can offer subscription-based services (e.g. energy monitoring, predictive maintenance alerts, extended warranty programs) directly to end customers or through your installer network, with billing handled automatically.
Installers in the HVAC sector
Installers are often the primary sales channel for HVAC products: a manufacturer's relationship with their installer network is a key competitive asset. Connhex gives installers the tools they need to work efficiently, thus giving manufacturers a way to strengthen that relationship.
Role-based access and site management
With Connhex's IAM system, each installer gets access only to the devices they manage. Permissions are granular and configurable: an installer can view device status, run diagnostics and push configurations without accessing data that belongs to other customers or to the manufacturer's internal operations.
Streamlined commissioning
Connhex Provisioning and Remote Init reduce the time spent on-site during installation. Devices can be registered, configured, and brought online through a guided, automated flow minimizing manual errors and speeding up every new installation.
Remote diagnostics and predictive maintenance
Once a device is in the field, installers can monitor it remotely and diagnose issues without a site visit. Threshold-based alerts and a configurable rules engine enable proactive maintenance: installers are notified before a problem becomes a failure, making it possible to offer comprehensive maintenance contracts rather than just reactive call-outs.
End users and the HVAC market
A great app experience
End users increasingly expect their HVAC system to come with a polished, intuitive companion app, one that gives them real control over comfort and energy consumption.
Connhex provides the infrastructure to build exactly that kind of experience.
A thermostat companion app built with Connhex. The app ships with a built-in theming system: the two screenshots show the same interface in two different themes.
Climate control customization
Users can set schedules, define comfort zones and automate their HVAC system based on time, occupancy, or sensor data. For connected thermostats and heat pumps, this level of control is now the baseline expectation.
Energy savings and sustainability
Real-time monitoring of energy consumption helps users understand how their system performs and where there is room to reduce usage. With custom rules and automated actions, the system can optimize itself reducing bills and environmental impact without any manual effort.
Proactive alerts and insights
Users are notified when something needs attention: unusual energy consumption, a maintenance reminder, or a potential fault before it becomes a breakdown. This kind of proactive communication builds trust and reduces support costs for the manufacturer.
Safety and regulatory compliance
IoT-enabled HVAC systems simplify compliance with indoor air quality standards and environmental regulations. Automated data collection and reporting reduces the manual effort required from both installers and end users.
Building on Connhex for HVAC
Connhex gives HVAC equipment manufacturers a complete platform to bring connected products to market:
- multi-format data ingestion with the Mapper, to unify product lines that use different protocols or data formats
- OTA firmware updates via Connhex Edge, to keep devices compliant and up to date
- device provisioning and remote initialization, to streamline installation and commissioning
- role-based access control for manufacturers, installers, and end users
- recurring revenue models with built-in subscription and billing management
- rules and notifications for proactive alerts and user-facing automations
- real-time device monitoring to understand how products actually perform in the field
- GDPR compliance documentation, to simplify your legal team's evaluation
It is backed by Compiuta: if you need customization or functionality beyond what Connhex provides out of the box, we can build it.
Ready to get started? Explore Connhex configurations, or reach out — we'll be happy to discuss your specific requirements.