Each year, the AHR Expo offers a clear view into how priorities across the HVAC and building automation industry are evolving. AHR 2026 in Las Vegas reflected that momentum at scale, bringing together 53,315 total attendees, including 41,241 visitors and 12,074 exhibitors, across 578,980 square feet of exhibit space. The event featured 1,956 exhibiting companies from 40 countries and 290 education sessions, underscoring both the global reach and technical depth of the industry.
Across the show floor and in technical discussions, conversations consistently centered on open data, interoperability, and the growing role of AI in day-to-day building operations. For J2 Innovations, AHR 2026 also carried some historical significance.
Returning to Our Roots
Las Vegas is where the J2 Innovations story began, born out of a vision to revolutionize Building Automation Systems (BAS). While working on high end projects on the Las Vegas Strip, the team was inspired to create a better, smarter framework for engineering, commissioning, and visualizing building systems.
Those experiences ultimately led to the creation of FIN Framework. Returning to the strip was a reminder of how far both the company and the industry have progressed, from solving early project challenges to shaping smart building technology on a global scale. That sense of perspective mattered this year as J2 Innovations has matured to be the go-to platform provider and technology leader in the industry.
Our goal this year was to show how the FIN ecosystem is now delivering a wide range of products and how partners are leveraging our technology to solve customer problems. Here's a look at what we showcased on the AHR floor.
FIN Framework 5.2
We were excited to showcase FIN Framework 5.2, our latest platform release. Designed to enhance usability, performance, and integration, FIN 5.2 empowers system integrators, facility managers, and end users alike with a more seamless and intelligent experience.
Under the hood, FIN 5.2 expands protocol and integration support. Updates include the Historian, Alarms, and Scheduler apps. We also updated BACnet, improved MQTT capabilities for more efficient data exchange, and tighter alignment with NEXIO hardware for edge deployments.
The release continues to emphasize consistent, mobile-optimized interfaces and flexible configuration tools so integrators, OEMs, and operators can work from the same environment across projects and portfolios.
At AHR, these updates led to practical conversations about reducing configuration time, improving alarm clarity, and making historical data easier for operators to interpret without additional tooling.
Expanding the Ecosystem Through FIN Solution Partners
Another major topic in the booth was the launch of our FIN Solution Partner Program. The program offers system integrators innovative products, direct support, and a strong community to help deliver faster, smarter, and more profitable FIN-based projects.
System integrators gain a competitive advantage by reducing engineering time and offering an enhanced end-user experience for their customers. With the power of the FIN ecosystem, they can simplify complex integrations and scale with confidence as their business grows.
NEXIO and Modernizing at the Edge
Interest in our new NEXIO embedded controller was steady, particularly for customers looking to have a combined solution of next-generation hardware and FIN software.
NEXIO extends FIN capabilities closer to the equipment layer by providing local control, data normalization, and secure connectivity at the edge. This approach helps organizations:
- Integrate existing systems without major infrastructure changes
- Standardize data before it reaches supervisory or enterprise layers
- Support distributed architectures across campuses and portfolios.
With its compact, future-ready design, robust connectivity and flexible customization, NEXIO is an ideal edge solution that streamlines building automation while delivering best-in-class connectivity and operational efficiency.
FIN Intelligence in daily operations
After integration, the next question is how teams manage systems once they are running.
FIN Intelligence continues to generate interest from professionals looking to simplify operations and reduce the volume of information consumed on a daily basis.
Working from normalized and contextualized data, FIN Intelligence can:
- Surface anomalies earlier
- Correlate related events across systems
- Highlight likely root causes
- Support more consistent performance across portfolios.
Operators often described environments with large numbers of alarms and limited staff time. Tools that filter noise and prioritize meaningful issues help teams focus on what requires action.
OEM Solutions Powered by FIN Framework
AHR Expo 2026 was a great place to highlight the strength and breadth of the Powered by FIN Framework ecosystem. J2 Innovations is proud to showcase a rich network of OEM partners who build intelligent, deployable products on the FIN Framework. By embedding FIN as the foundation of their solutions, these OEMs gain access to a platform with out-of-the-box applications, built-in interoperability, industry credibility, and an active community that supports faster time to market.
It was great to have some of our OEM partners visit our booth, including Blackstone Energy Services who visited us with the end user, who utilizes the blackPAC™ solution, a distributed energy resource management system built on the FIN Framework. blackPAC leverages the broader FIN ecosystem, including dashboarding and edge-to-cloud functionality, to help manage energy and carbon performance without rebuilding core capabilities from scratch. It was amazing to meet in person with the team and talk about the full customer journey from product concept to a happy customer and great outcomes: $1.5 million in electricity savings and more than 5000 tonnes of avoided CO2 so far.
Takeaways from the show floor
The most consistent feedback centered on reducing complexity by leveraging the operational payoff of structured data. Teams are looking for ways to simplify their operational interaction with BAS by utilizing AI to streamline processes. There was excitement around new hardware availability and future hardware products featuring FIN.
Beyond the technology itself, AHR remains valuable because of the face-to-face conversations that shape how these systems are applied in the real world. Exhibitions like this create space for engineers, OEMs, integrators, and operators to compare notes, challenge assumptions, and align on practical solutions. Those human connections are often what move projects forward.
AHR Expo 2026 also gave us an opportunity to reflect on our origins and the original vision behind J2 Innovations, to make BMS easier, simpler and more efficient. Our focus is still on delivering an open, future-ready platform that partners can rely on and OEMs can confidently use as the foundation for new products.
