1. Johnson Controls
  2. Sustainable Infrastructure
  3. Energy as a Service

Energy as a Service

Contact Us

Energy as a Service: Run better buildings. Without running the risk.

Energy as a Service is a turnkey solution delivered as a true partnership—one accountable partner to design, build, finance, operate and maintain (DBFOM) your systems for their entire lifecycle. You preserve cash, stabilize budgets and direct your capital toward the mission critical priorities that matter most.

Our integrated approach to modernizing infrastructure ensures continuity, accountability and measurable results.

Why choose Johnson Controls Sustainable Infrastructure team

We bring you experience and expertise unmatched by any other energy and infrastructure services business.

One accountable partner for Full Lifecycle DBFOM

Real risk transfer across operations and lifecycle—with guaranteed asset condition for the full contract term.

We are where you are

With 160+ North American branch offices and thousands of field professionals, we deliver local execution backed by national scale.

Award‑winning Facilities Maintenance and Technology Partner

Deep operations and maintenance expertise in critical environments, working alongside your staff to support your mission.

Capital markets expertise built in

Our dedicated capital team structures flexible, bankable EaaS solutions with an optimized cost of capital, backed by our financial strength.

Performance‑Backed Outcomes

KPI contingent payments align incentives and accountability—ensuring performance is delivered over the full term, on your terms.

How Energy as as Service works

Decades of performance based contracting and public private partnership experience give us the technical and financial depth to deliver flexible, tailored solutions—never one size fits all.
Assess & align
We assess your buildings, energy systems, and operations—evaluating infrastructure condition, energy use, resiliency needs, and funding needs. Together, we define outcome driven KPIs and a funding strategy tailored to your cost, energy, and financial outcomes.
Design the optimal lifecycle solution
With decades of built environment expertise, we design fully integrated, lifecycle solutions—engineering systems for long term reliability, efficiency, and performance. Vendor neutral and delivering on the lowest total cost of ownership. Period.
Construct & modernize
As construction manager and turnkey partner, we oversee engineering, trade coordination, scheduling, and installation—modernizing HVAC, electrical, controls, and central plants while minimizing disruption to your operations.
Cost certainty with performance backed capital
Instead of upfront capital investment, your infrastructure is delivered through a long term Energy as a Service agreement. We align payments with performance outcomes—transferring operational, maintenance, and lifecycle risk to Johnson Controls while providing predictable costs and budget certainty.
Operate and guarantee performance
An award winning expert in facilities maintenance and technology, we operate and optimize some of the most efficient facilities in the world. We maintain and continuously improve system performance—often for decades—with digital oversight and guaranteed outcomes for savings, reliability, and uptime. Our responsibility continues through the full contract term — handing the facility back to your team with guaranteed asset condition.

Why CFOs choose Energy as a Service

Unlike traditional delivery models, our contracts transfer energy, asset performance, and operational execution risk to Johnson Controls so escalating costs and aging facilities are managed by us, not absorbed by your balance sheet. Shift costs from CapEx to OpEx and improve debt-to-equity ratios. Other benefits include:

Capital free modernization

Modernize major infrastructure with predictable long term payments and no upfront capital–preserving cash, avoiding budget spikes and freeing capital for mission critical priorities.

Predictable cost structure

Replace unpredictable repairs with one fixed, capped payment–flattening budgets and improving long term cost forecasting.

Risk transfer

Our model shifts key operating risks–asset performance, lifecycle exposure, and workforce execution–from the owner to Johnson Controls, with accountability financially backed by contractual KPIs.

Favorable balance sheet treatment

Potential off balance sheet treatment protects debt capacity, strengthens financial ratios and enables modernization without compromising fiscal flexibility.

Energy as a Service delivers across sectors

Applications for Energy as a Service extend across industries. Whether we’re modernizing a central plant, supporting clinical environments, upgrading a factory’s utilities or transforming a university’s energy system, customers know they can depend on us to deliver on time, on budget and without disruption.

Healthcare
Healthcare
Modernize aging infrastructure and enable staff to focus on patient care rather than facility management. With products and solutions in approximately 80% of hospitals across North America and end‑to‑end service delivery, Johnson Controls brings proven scale and expertise to deliver predictable outcomes and long‑term performance for healthcare clients.
View case study
Industrial manufacturing
Industrial / manufacturing
Overcome capital constraints, aging infrastructure, and labor shortages by designing, financing, operating, and maintaining critical plant systems—improving reliability, energy efficiency, and productivity. With over 50 sites under management and more than $850 million in energy cost avoidance delivered across projects, Johnson Controls brings proven scale and performance to help manufacturers optimize operations and reduce costs.
View case study
Education
Education
Address outdated campus assets, deferred maintenance backlogs, and constrained capital budgets—delivering more efficient, sustainable environments that attract and retain students and faculty. With more than 36 active higher education projects delivering over $580 million in guaranteed savings, Johnson Controls brings proven scale and experience to help campuses improve resilience, meet sustainability goals, and manage long-term operating costs with confidence.
View case study
data centers
Data centers
Address the sector’s most critical challenges—ensuring uptime, managing cooling demands, and controlling rising energy costs—maintaining mission‑critical infrastructure with performance guarantees and real‑time monitoring. Operators trust Johnson Controls to provide the scale, expertise, and reliability needed to keep data centers operating at peak performance while improving efficiency and resilience.
View case study

FAQs about Energy as a Service

  • What’s the difference between Energy as a Service and leasing?
    With Energy as a Service, you pay for guaranteed outcomes specifically, the KPIs defined in your contract. The provider is responsible for operating and maintaining related equipment and may even take ownership. With a lease you pay for use of the equipment, while performance is your responsibility. You manage operations and upkeep with no guarantee of savings.
  • What are typical key performance indicators?

    Your contract can include KPIs that cover:

    • Cost-based consumption and reduction metrics: kWh, BTUs, gallons, etc.
    • Emissions and decarbonization: CO2e, emission intensity
    • Building efficiency: energy use intensity, demand reduction, water conservation, energy savings
    • Renewable energy and storage: kWh produced, net metering
    • Resiliency, availability and delivery
    • Asset condition at handback
    • Occupant experience: temperature, humidity, safety, etc.
  • What can be delivered as a service?

    This flexible model can be used to update specific systems or full buildings, tailored to your needs. Just a few examples:

    • Cooling
    • Heating
    • Compressed air
    • Complete building systems
    • Renewable energy systems
    • Battery storage
    • Water infrastructure
  • How can Energy as a Service help address common facilities staffing challenges, such as aging workforce, limited skilled labor, and tight budgets?

    Johnson Controls can help bridge the labor gap. We offer and have deep experience delivering flexible staffing models.
    We can:

    • Fully run your maintenance program
    • Augment your staff with on-site or remote experts
    • Or train your team to strengthen in-house capabilities

    We tailor our approach to your wants and needs.

  • Are we required to use Johnson Controls products?
    No, our solutions are vendor-neutral. We’re experienced with third-party providers and focused on bringing you the most cost-effective and fit-for-purpose technical solutions available in the market.

Additional industry-specific resources

U.S. Department of Energy
The American Hospital Association

Explore additional Sustainable Infrastructure solutions

EPC

Energy performance contracting

Update your facilities using little to no upfront capital, and pay for the improvements with guaranteed energy and operational savings.

P3

Public-private partnerships

Take advantage of private sector expertise to carry out long-term public infrastructure upgrades.

Getting started with Energy as a Service

Johnson Controls Sustainable Infrastructure starts every project by listening. Our initial consultation focuses on clarifying your needs, challenges and desired outcomes. Contact us to learn more about next steps.

Please read our Privacy Notice for information on how we protect and manage your personal data. By completing this form and submitting your information, you confirm that you have reviewed, understood and accepted our privacy terms as well as our cookie terms.