Remote control and fault alerts for split ACs in bank branches and chain stores
TL;DR Setpointly fits a small controller to every split or cassette AC in a chain's outlets, so head office can set temperatures, schedules and alerts from one screen. It flags units that run too long or cool badly. Chains with hundreds of small sites pay a monthly fee per AC.
Most small commercial cooling in India isn't a chiller plant. It's a row of split ACs in a bank branch, a pharmacy or a burger outlet. Room ACs make up about 80% of the country's installed refrigerant-based cooling capacity, and they used around 40% of cooling energy in 2017-18, expected to rise to 50% by 2037-38[1].
Nobody watches these units. Staff set them to 18°C, leave them running after closing and call a technician only once the room is already hot. BEE has asked commercial buildings to hold 24–25°C voluntarily[1], but a voluntary guideline means very little in a branch where the manager holds the remote.
So which of a 400-outlet chain's 1,500 ACs is wasting power today? Nobody at head office has a clue.
Setpointly is a controller, either infrared or wired to the indoor unit, plus a current sensor on the AC's supply. Each one reports room temperature, run time and power draw over the outlet's Wi-Fi or a SIM.
Head office sets rules per site - 24°C in public areas, off 30 minutes after closing, pre-cool 20 minutes before opening. Staff can override for an hour and every override gets logged. The software learns each unit's normal behaviour and then flags the ones that run long but cool slowly, which usually means low refrigerant, a clogged filter or a dying compressor. Those alerts go straight to the chain's maintenance vendor with the site and unit number.
The seed pitched AI that tunes whole HVAC systems. We kept it narrow on purpose, because large buildings with chillers already have specialists, and the fleet of small, unmanaged ACs has nobody.
The chain's facilities or admin head buys, and the CFO signs off once a pilot shows lower bills. Pricing would be a one-time hardware fee plus a monthly charge per AC.
We found no public Indian price for this. My assumption is you test ₹1,500–3,000 per unit for hardware and ₹100–250 per unit per month. AMC vendors are a second buyer, since fault alerts cut wasted site visits.
India's cooling demand is projected to rise about eight times by 2037-38 against 2017-18[1], so chains opening outlets now will carry the bill for decades. Radio approval for Wi-Fi devices is a self-declaration at ₹10,000 per model[2]. And retailers abroad are already rolling out AI HVAC control across hundreds of stores[3].
There's no public figure for remote AC control in Indian multi-site small commercial chains. The supporting numbers - room ACs hold most of the installed cooling capacity[1], and the Cooling Action Plan estimates 8–12% of cooling energy could be saved through better operation and retro-commissioning, among other steps[1].
That range is your best anchor for what a pilot should show.
An AI building-control startup, now owned by a global HVAC major, sells AI control for HVAC, and one Canadian retailer went from 49 stores to 214 with it[3]. Smart-AC gadget makers sell infrared controllers, mostly to consumers[4]. Indian energy-as-a-service firms run savings for larger buildings[5]. Indian chain retailers mostly rely on timers and branch discipline.
The gap is a fleet tool sized for split ACs, priced per unit and plugged into AMC workflows.
| Difficulty | Moderate (43/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹55 L–1.1 Cr |
| Time to launch | 6–9 months |
The controller is ordinary hardware. The hard parts are the IR code library for dozens of AC brands and models, keeping devices online on patchy outlet Wi-Fi, and installing across hundreds of sites without a field team of your own. Enterprise sales cycles with banks can also drag past a year.
No sector licence to run the service, but the hardware needs paperwork.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
Don't let AI push a setpoint that staff can't override. A hot branch with angry customers will see the controller unplugged by lunch.
Want to work out the AI layer for Setpointly? Talk to Yash →
Here's what can go south -
I'd back this for a founder with IoT hardware experience and contacts in retail or bank facilities teams. If you're hoping to sell to homes then it's a weak fit.
First, prove in one 30-outlet pilot that consumption falls 10% or more against matched control outlets.
Plan for roughly ₹55 L–1.1 Cr, most of it on hardware, the IR code library and pilot installs.
No sector licence. Each Wi-Fi controller model needs a WPC self-declaration, and banks will run their own vendor security review.
Yes, chains with many small sites exist everywhere. Check your local radio approval rules and data protection law, and expect more competition from AC makers' own apps.
The free Setpointly validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the radio and data-protection checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for facilities heads and AMC vendors, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Setpointly or something close to it? The make-or-break work is a pilot design that proves savings to a sceptical CFO, and that's something I enjoy helping founders plan. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.