Technologies for the future at ISH 2025: AI paves the way for a sustainable building sector

At the world's leading trade fair for HVAC and water, around 2,000 national and international exhibitors present innovative technologies and trends for tomorrow’s built-up world. The range of products and services in the 19 exhibition halls covers everything from efficient water management, modern bathroom design and green facades to sustainable heating and air-conditioning technology, smart building-services technology and energy-management systems. Around 70 percent of the exhibitors come from outside Germany. The best-represented nations after Germany include Italy, Turkey, Spain, China, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Belgium and France.

Artificial intelligence as a guarantee of success

Under the motto ‘Solutions for a sustainable future’, ISH 2025 will focus on the issues driving the sanitary and HVAC sector: environmentally-friendly heat generation, responsible water usage and hygienically clean air. As an international platform for technical innovations and a showcase for pioneering trends in the building sector, ISH plays a central role in the future development of the industry. In particular, artificial intelligence (AI) is crucial to meeting the growing demands for greater energy efficiency and sustainability. Christian Schlicht, industrial engineer and expert in corporate real_-estate and facility management, sums up the situation as follows: “When it comes to building-services technology, AI is like an orchestra conductor. It harmonises the various systems and building services, reads the data score in real time and precisely coordinates each element. The result is a symphony of efficiency, comfort and sustainability, perfectly tailored to our needs and the environment.”

The use of AI-based systems enables complex building systems to be controlled and monitored intelligently. AI analyses vast amounts of data in real time, identifies any scope for optimisation and automatically configures operations to minimise energy consumption and lower costs. Moreover, AI facilitates the seamless integration of renewable energies and improves maintenance processes through predictive methods, thereby increasing system durability and reliability. AI-based solutions thus provide a holistic and future-proof basis for sustainable building operation and lift the comfort, safety, security and environmental friendliness of building-services technology to a new level.

Eight solution fields point the way

The main issues facing the sanitary and HVAC sector are reflected in the layout of the trade fair. In 2025, it will open with a new event structure that has been developed with the interests and needs of visitors in mind. At its core are eight new solution fields and their corresponding application areas, which make it easier for visitors to find what they are looking for:

Water-bearing Systems play a vital role in modern buildings. They include drinking-water supply, heating circuits, the utilisation of both process and rainwater, and drainage. In the case of Heat Generation, there are many options that can be used to improve efficiency, sustainability and environmental compatibility and they include electricity, biomass, gas and liquid-based heating systems, as well as local and district heating. The interconnection of devices and systems within houses and buildings is achieved through solutions for Intelligent Building Management, which are aimed at energy efficiency, comfort, safety and security. Another feature of modern buildings comprises air-conditioning and ventilation equipment and systems, which ensure high-quality Indoor Air to produce the optimum quality required by the various types of building. Increasingly, the focus in both public and private Bathrooms is not just on design and accessibility but also on sustainability. Bathroom installations that not only save water and energy but are also easy to install represent a decisive step in this direction, as do intelligent and water-saving bathroom products. A comprehensive range of high-quality components is required for Sanitary & HVAC Production, and they must comply with specific sanitation, heating and air-conditioning requirements. The specialist exhibitors taking part in ISH also offer a huge range of such components. Efficient solutions for Installation are no less important for all construction projects. State-of-the-art tools, efficient storage and transport concepts, as well as the latest developments in industrial pre-assembly, play a vital role here. Suitable Software solutions are essential for successful projects and business processes. At ISH, the spectrum to be seen encompasses planning software for new buildings and existing buildings, office software and building-management software.

Building Future Conference: focusing on sustainability and digitalisation

No matter whether the focus is on greater sustainability, transformation in the heating sector or a reduction in greenhouse gases – the various branches of the building industry are facing enormous challenges. From 17 to 20 March 2025, the high-level ‘Building Future Conference’ in the Portalhaus of Messe Frankfurt will be the meeting place for experts from politics and local authorities, the real estate and housing sectors, energy suppliers, planners, architects and project developers. The aim of the conference is to develop joint strategies that promote sustainable building and energy concepts and thus make a substantial contribution to climate protection and resource conservation.

The Building Future Conference is organised by Messe Frankfurt together with the following partners: the Federation of German Heating Industry (BDH), the Association of Air-Conditioning and Ventilation in Buildings (FGK), the German Association for Energy Efficiency in Building Services (VdZ) , the German Sanitation, Heating and Air-Conditioning Association (ZVSHK) and other national and international industry associations.

Full details at a glance

Whether you are interested in the solution fields, events or information about exhibitors, a comprehensive overview of everything to be seen at ISH 2025 can be found on the ISH website at ish.messefrankfurt.com.

ISH – World’s leading trade fair for HVAC + Water
ISH 2025 will be held from 17 to 21 March 2025.