5 ways OpenBlue Central Utility Plant Optimization boosts sustainable growth

Facilities teams tasked with managing large, energy-intensive utility plants find themselves between a rock and a hard place. They’re under pressure to reduce costs, improve efficiency and advance sustainability goals at a time when energy prices are rising, uptime requirements are tightening and system loads are becoming increasingly unpredictable.

Regardless of these challenges, many facilities still rely on aging building automation systems, manual decision-making and static control strategies that aren’t designed for today’s dynamic loads. Before they know it, inefficiencies begin to stack up. Pumps run harder than necessary, chillers stage on too early, cooling towers miss optimization windows, and operators – often short-staffed – spend valuable hours adjusting setpoints instead of focusing on higher-value work.

OpenBlue Central Utility Plant Optimization (CUPO ) was built to change that. By combining real-time data, predictive algorithms and AI-driven supervisory control software, CUPO continuously identifies the most efficient combination of chillers, towers, pumps and heat exchangers. The result is a smarter and more sustainable plant that supports growth instead of limiting it.

Here are five ways organizations are using CUPO to turn mounting operational pressures into opportunities for improvement and business growth.

1. Delivering immediate, measurable energy savings

Minimize utility costs while making the most of utility incentives.

Central plants often represent the single largest energy consumer on a campus or in a facility portfolio. Even small inefficiencies in equipment sequencing or part-load performance can result in substantial energy waste – and unnecessary costs – over time.

CUPO addresses this head-on by using real-time inputs that include weather, load, occupancy and equipment performance, to automatically determine the lowest-cost operating configuration. Instead of relying on static sequences, CUPO dynamically chooses the most efficient mix of equipment at any given moment.

The impact is significant: By using CUPO’s Auto Mode more than 90% of the year, one major Las Vegas resort achieved a 10.2% reduction in energy use and cut annual utility costs by an estimated $110,000. In addition, the resort received an $80,000 cash incentive from the electric utility provider for making energy-efficient upgrades.

Thanks to CUPO’s ability to precisely stage pumps, chillers and cooling towers, the plant now operates closer to its optimal performance curve year-round. For operators, that means lower energy bills today and a more predictable budget tomorrow.

2. Enhancing equipment reliability and reducing operational risk

Predictive control supports smoother operations, fewer surprises and more uptime.

Running a central plant manually or with limited intelligence often places unnecessary strain on equipment. Chillers short-cycle, pumps operate outside ideal ranges and cooling towers run harder than conditions warrant. Over time, these inefficiencies:

• Erode reliability
• Shorten equipment life
• Increase the likelihood of equipment failures

CUPO minimizes these risks by continuously analyzing thousands of variables – from system performance to weather forecasts – and making decisions designed to preserve both efficiency and equipment health. By forecasting load and anticipating changes, CUPO reduces abrupt transitions and ensures smoother starts, stable setpoints and more balanced system operation.

This protects high-value assets and reduces the likelihood of downtime – an essential advantage for mission-critical environments. For instance, a loss of cooling at hospitals, advanced manufacturing facilities and data centers can jeopardize safety, operations and regulatory compliance.

3. Supporting progress toward sustainability goals with actionable insights

Turn real-time plant data into clear, defensible sustainability reporting.

Cutting energy use and emissions is only half the battle; organizations must also prove those reductions with accurate, verifiable data. Internal and external stakeholders expect not just lower consumption, but visibility into how those reductions were achieved and confidence that the results are accurate and repeatable.

CUPO continuously analyzes plant performance, captures energy savings from optimized sequencing, chiller lift reduction and improved heat-recovery strategies. Those improvements are then translated into clear, quantifiable metrics. These insights are visualized through intuitive dashboards and customizable reports that make it easy for teams to document efficiency gains, validate carbon-reduction claims and respond confidently to reporting requirements.

CUPO’s reporting capabilities help teams:

• Track verified energy savings and performance trends in real time
• Access automated dashboards that support compliance and sustainability reporting
• Produce audit-ready data that demonstrates progress toward decarbonization commitments
• Communicate operational and environmental impact to leadership and stakeholders

Kent State University recently deployed CUPO to optimize dispatch decisions and improve oversight across seven interconnected plants. In addition to delivering over $1 million in annual utility cost savings and demand response revenues, the deployment has given operators a centralized view of plant performance and greater confidence in reported outcomes.

By giving organizations the tools to measure, document and communicate plant performance, CUPO can accelerate sustainability outcomes, strengthen accountability, enhance transparency and improve confidence in their long-term strategy. 

4. Reducing labor burden through autonomous, predictive supervision

Empower teams to focus on more strategic initiatives while automation handles the complexity.

The shortage of qualified facilities management professionals remains a top concern for organizations trying to optimize central plant operations. With experienced operators retiring and labor markets tightening, many organizations are managing more facilities with fewer people.

CUPO reduces the impact of the FM labor shortage by automating the most complex and time-consuming aspects of plant operation:

• Load prediction anticipates system demand before operators need to intervene.
• Automated equipment sequencing adjusts operation every 15 minutes without manual oversight.
• Supervisory control logic prevents common inefficiencies before they occur.
• Consistent, data-driven decisions replace operator-to-operator variation.

These capabilities free teams from constant monitoring and reduce the need for 24/7 staffing. In one specific example, the implementation of CUPO has enabled Children’s of Alabama hospital to run its central utility plant with only a single full-time manager. This has made it possible for the hospital’s operators to focus on preventative maintenance, long-range planning and strategic improvements rather than manual monitoring and adjustment of pumps, valves and setpoints.

5. Enabling scalable, future-ready plant modernization

Modernize today’s plant while preparing for tomorrow’s demands.

As campuses expand and climate conditions intensify, central utility plants will be asked to do more with the same or fewer resources. CUPO helps operators build a scalable, resilient foundation by:

• Integrating with modern BAS platforms like Metasys for unified visibility
• Providing accurate performance insights that inform capital planning
• Enabling plants to adapt dynamically as loads, occupancy and weather patterns shift

The ability to interface with virtually any brand of plant equipment through open protocols allows CUPO to optimize command-and-control in mixed-equipment environments. This ensures facilities can enhance performance without major equipment overhauls.

For organizations looking to extend asset life or prepare for electrification, CUPO offers a path forward that aligns long-term efficiency with reliability and cost control.

Build a smarter, more sustainable future with CUPO

Central utility plants are the backbone of large facility and campus operations. They supply the heating, cooling and power that keep every building functional. As organizations rely on these plants to do more than ever, facilities teams can be caught between strategic pressures and operational constraints by optimizing performance and ensuring uptime while reining in costs and energy use. OpenBlue Central Utility Plant Optimization unlocks efficiency, strengthens reliability, cuts costs and advances sustainability goals – all while reducing the burden on facility teams.

Whether managing a mega-resort on the Las Vegas Strip, a hospital campus, a university, or a global portfolio of mission-critical facilities, CUPO helps leaders transform the central plant from a cost center into a driver of strategic growth.