Heating and cooling is usually the single biggest energy cost in any building and the one most people are least willing to compromise on. Nobody wants to save money by being uncomfortable. That tension, between cost and comfort, is exactly what our completed ANTS project set out to resolve.

What ANTS actually developed

ANTS is a self-learning HVAC energy management system, a holistic solution for real-time optimal control of heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Instead of running on fixed schedules or simple thermostat logic, it uses multi-objective optimization and advanced forecasting to continuously decide the most efficient way to keep a space comfortable.

Critically, it doesn't optimize for cost alone. The system factors in:

• Renewable resources, such as on-site photovoltaic (solar) generation,
• Energy storage systems, like battery storage, to shift usage to the cheapest or greenest available power,
• Occupant health, productivity and comfort, so efficiency gains never come at the expense of a usable space.

The result is an AI-driven HVAC energy management approach built for how buildings operate, with fluctuating occupancy, variable weather and increasingly, their own solar and battery infrastructure.

Built with the right partners

ANTS was developed in collaboration with Lelantus Innovations, WiseWire Energy Solutions, the KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence at the University of Cyprus - one of Europe's leading research centres for information technologies, control and communications. That combination brought together PHOEBE's applied research in monitoring and optimization, Lelantus's and WiseWire’s technical implementation expertise and KIOS's research depth in intelligent systems.

The project ran from 2024 to 2026 under the RESTART 2016–2020 programme (CO-DEVELOP), funded by the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation, and officially wrapped up at the beginning of July.

Who this is for

The outputs from ANTS are designed to serve two very different audiences with the same underlying need:

• Large, high-occupancy building owners and operators: offices, commercial buildings and similar spaces, where HVAC costs scale quickly and even small efficiency gains add up,
• Homeowners: with (or considering) solar panels and battery storage, looking for a way to make the most of that investment, rather than letting excess generation go to waste.

Both groups get the same core benefit: a system that manages energy use intelligently, in real-time, without anyone needing to become an energy expert themselves.

Part of a bigger picture

ANTS builds directly on ground PHOEBE has covered before, our recent look at cutting through the AI hype in smart building management made the case that the real value of AI in buildings isn't the buzzword, it's disciplined, measurable optimization. ANTS is that principle put into practice: a real-time energy management system with a clear, testable goal à lower costs and emissions, with comfort as a non-negotiable constraint rather than an afterthought.

The project also aligned with several UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly around health and wellbeing, industry innovation, sustainable communities, responsible consumption and climate action, reflecting a deliberate design choice to treat energy efficiency and occupant wellbeing as complementary goals, rather than a trade-off.

Curious how AI-driven energy management could apply to your building or portfolio? Get in touch with our team.