AHR Expo 2027: questions to ask building automation vendors

By Steve Adams, BuildingAutomation.net · 6 min read · Updated November 10, 2026

The 2027 AHR Expo runs Monday, Jan. 25 through Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2027 at McCormick Place in Chicago (show hours per the organizer: 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Wednesday). The building automation booths are where the "AI" claims get thickest. Print this page (Ctrl/Cmd+P) and bring it.

Before you go

• Write down your top 2–3 real problems: hot/cold calls, energy bills, a BAS end-of-life, a commissioning backlog. Shop for those.
• Know your current BAS brands, versions and rough point counts.
• Use the exhibitor list on ahrexpo.com to pick your must-see booths, and browse our directory by category to see who's in each space.

For any software vendor

1. What problem do you solve, and for whom? (If the answer is "everything for everyone," move on.)
2. Show me it running on real data from a building like mine, not the demo tenant.
3. What data and access do you need: read-only, or do you write to my controls?
4. Which BAS brands and versions do you connect to today? Name a site.
5. How is it priced (per point, building, square foot, user), and what's one-time vs. recurring?
6. What does my team have to do every week to get value?
7. Can I export my data if I leave?

Analytics / FDD vendors

1. Can I see your rule library for AHUs and VAVs?
2. How do you rank faults, and how do you stop a bad sensor from flooding me with false faults?
3. Who does the point mapping/tagging, and how long does it take for a building like mine?
4. Do you offer analyst review, and what does it include?

More in our analytics buyer's checklist.

"AI" optimization vendors

1. What exactly does the AI change: setpoints, schedules, sequences?
2. At what BACnet priority do you write, and how do I take control back in one step?
3. What happens if your cloud connection drops?
4. How will savings be measured in my building, against what baseline?

Background: AI in BAS: real vs. hype.

BAS / controls platform vendors

1. Is the platform open? Can any qualified integrator service it, or only your dealer?
2. Are controllers BTL-listed? Is BACnet/SC supported today or "on the roadmap"?
3. Licensing: what's perpetual vs. subscription, and what happens if I stop paying?
4. How do upgrades work across firmware versions in an existing building?

Commissioning and field tools

1. Does it work offline in a mechanical room?
2. Can I build my own test templates? How fast?
3. Can subs and the owner see what they need without full licenses?

Network and cybersecurity vendors

1. Do you just monitor, or can you change things on my OT network?
2. What do you need installed (span port, appliance, agent)?
3. What will you show me about my BACnet network in the first hour?

After the show

Within a week, write down which vendors actually answered these questions with specifics. Ask the best two for a reference you choose, not one they choose, and a paid or free pilot on one building.