LAS VEGAS, Feb. 2–4, 2026 – As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in daily life through chatbots, image generation, and cloud-based services, the data centers supporting these applications are consuming a growing share of global electricity. Cooling alone typically accounts for 35–40% of total data center power use, making it one of the most significant energy and carbon challenges associated with AI infrastructure.
Against this backdrop, AHR Expo 2026, the world’s largest HVACR trade show, will bring together industry players addressing these pressures at scale. At this year’s event in Las Vegas, Midea Building Technologies (MBT) will present a portfolio of data center cooling and energy management solutions, highlighting how coordinated, system-level approaches can respond to rising AI-driven energy demand more effectively than standalone technologies.
Cooling Bottlenecks
As computing density increases, cooling performance has become a limiting factor for data center scalability. MBT’s MagBoost Apex Pro chiller is designed for high-load, mission-critical environments such as hyperscale data centers.
The system uses oil-free magnetic levitation technology to reduce mechanical friction, enabling stable operation, lower noise, and improved reliability. Its modular and compact design is intended to support deployment in space-constrained facilities, while the use of low-impact refrigerants aligns with tightening environmental requirements.
According to Midea Building Technologies, the MagBoost Apex Pro achieves up to 30% higher overall energy efficiency than conventional oil-lubricated chillers in typical data center applications, driven by its oil-free magnetic levitation design and optimized part-load performance. The system has already been deployed in large-scale, high-availability installations, where improved cooling efficiency can translate into lower operating costs and reduced carbon emissions.
System-level Intelligence
Hardware performance alone is not sufficient to address the complexity of modern data center operations. Complementing its cooling equipment, MBT is also highlighting MBT iBUILDING, a digital platform designed to coordinate and optimize building and data center systems at scale. Rather than managing equipment in isolation, the platform integrates cooling, power, and operational data to support real-time energy monitoring, carbon tracking, and predictive maintenance.
MBT iBUILDING is currently deployed across large commercial and campus-scale projects, managing extensive device networks and processing high volumes of operational data. By shifting from reactive maintenance to predictive and data-driven management, the platform is intended to improve reliability while reducing energy waste over the full lifecycle of a facility.
Together, MagBoost Apex Pro and MBT iBUILDING form the core of Midea Building Technologies’ system-level approach to low-carbon data center cooling. This approach is supported by a broader portfolio that includes liquid chillers, integrated chiller plants, heat recovery systems, and heat pump solutions, allowing hardware, software, and system design to function as a unified architecture.
Rather than positioning sustainability as a branding exercise, MBT’s approach reflects a practical engineering response to a measurable industry problem. As AI adoption accelerates, reducing the energy intensity of cooling systems will be critical to managing long-term costs and emissions across the technology sector.
At AHR Expo 2026, this thinking is reflected in MBT’s “Smart in One” concept, which emphasizes integrated, system-level solutions rather than standalone equipment. For observers tracking the evolution of AI infrastructure, the exhibit underscores a broader shift in the HVACR industry: cooling is no longer a peripheral concern, but a system-level constraint shaping how future AI workloads are designed, deployed, and scaled.
