Building Sustainability With Digital Twin Technology

By Laura Hahn, VP, OpenBlue Platform Engineering, Data and Analytics, Johnson Controls

The 2022 World Cup held in Qatar attracted 2.65 million spectators across eight distinct venues. Managing an event of this magnitude required a thorough understanding of facility operations and the potential risks that could compromise occupant well-being, safety and comfort. But a venue hosting an event of this size for the first time can’t rely on historical data to inform risk mitigation. Instead, a predictive understanding was required.

For INTALEQ, the management team at the helm of the World Cup stadium operations, the solution was realized by developing digital twins of the eight-stadium collective[i]. Twins can help identify and respond to critical situations such as space utilization, air temperature and energy usage.

A digital twin is a digital replica of a physical product, asset or system. In buildings, this concept combines past and real-time data pulled from devices, sensors and actuators in lighting, HVAC, life-safety products, security systems and energy-management programs. Although these systems often provide a level of performance data independently, they can leave blind spots in illustrating how each system impacts the others.

The digital twin aggregates the combined data to create a cohesive network of information. It enables further intelligence when combined with predictive algorithms within an artificial intelligence system. Insights can be further enhanced with the addition of external factors such as the environment surrounding the building, weather patterns and enterprise data. By combining these datapoints, digital twin technology creates a holistic viewpoint of the facility and its assets and people within a digital experience that can be used to simulate, test and predict future outcomes.

Although the example of the 2022 World Cup is grand in scope, nearly all buildings can benefit from a digital-twin system, and for many, the value stems from its ability to lower operational costs and help meet rapidly changing sustainability demands. 

Driving Sustainability

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that building operations account for approximately 27% of annual global carbon emissions.[ii] Other sources estimate that number to be around 39%. Smart controls and building automation systems (BAS) provide a solution to improve upon these energy efficiency shortfalls. However, many BAS platforms are limited to past or real-time data and lack the intelligence to test and predict future outcomes.

Achieving long-term sustainability within the built environment means buildings must remain efficient when faced with unknown challenges such as extreme temperatures changes, natural disasters and infectious diseases. Understanding these “what-if” scenarios require predictive data that can inform strategic preparedness.

Today’s leading technology providers are taking the concept of AI-driven visualization a step further by offering a comprehensive suite of built-in apps used to aggregate and analyze both building and contextual data. Visualization and simulation are applied to real-word operations via a “bridge” which serves as a connection between the physical and digital replicas. This seamless communication between the virtual and real world is used to enable machine-learning protocols that can adjust and optimize building performance in real time.

For example, the temperature and ventilation of a room can be automatically adjusted as occupancy rates change to increase healthy indoor air quality and optimize energy efficiency. Alternately, real-time reports can be delivered to employees through an app to provide insights into workspace availability and allow them to tailor the actions based on their preferences and goals.

This data can also be used to measure and track sustainability goals such as meeting net zero status. Each outcome is matched to the unique requirements of the building and is communicated in a simplified method to increase widespread understanding among building teams and stakeholders. Because of this high level of customization, digital twinning can be applied to a wide range of industries and can benefit both new and existing buildings.

Retrofit Applications

Retrofitting systems in existing buildings presents an immense opportunity to move the built industry toward a more sustainable future. The US Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that system-based retrofits can yield an energy savings of 49-82%.[iii] Upgrading these systems also provides an opportunity to modernize outdated buildings with smart technology.

However, building retrofits can present unique challenges when approaching technological advancements. Legacy systems may not support digital connectivity and older buildings often contain a variety of products from different suppliers, limiting connectivity between each product.

Defining a digital twin can be a significant investment, but paired with rewarding outcomes, that investment pays off. Digital twins can seem complex and costly, but they can also be scaled to what a specific building owner/operator wants to accomplish. By asking questions and setting specific building goals, a digital-twin implementation can integrate both existing and new systems and provide predictive data to inform system repairs or replacements.

New Building Development

Digital twinning for new buildings provides an opportunity to optimize the complete building lifecycle. Within each phase, the digital twin provides a simulation platform to visualize and test equipment selection, layout and projected performance. This ability to work within the virtual world can help improve process efficiencies and maintain budgets and timelines.

As the physical building transitions from design to build and ultimately live operation, the digital twin system gains data, creating a digital thread throughout the building history. Creating a digital thread to enable data-driven decisions is less costly at the initial build. That’s because much of the design and build information can be reused, rather than having to recapture the data many years later. This sets the operator up for digital success from the start.

Key Takeaways

As digital-twin technology continues to influence building operations, it’s critical for building professionals to understand the concepts and capabilities of these systems. For contractors, the holistic viewpoint enabled through digital twinning can help inform equipment selection while guiding predictive maintenance and validating the need for equipment updates.

With digital twins, contractors can be granted access to mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection (MEPF) data to remotely strategize service requirements helping to minimize time on the job and system downtime. Historical performance insights can be used to pinpoint inefficiencies within systems to identify when component repairs or replacements are necessary. Modeling capabilities can be used to plan system upgrades and layouts while understanding how these changes could impact other areas of the building. And finally, remote monitoring can be used as a service to identify inefficiencies in energy usage and points of degrading IAQ.    

Digital-twin data can be leveraged to test, model and inform outcomes. These data-informed decisions can lead to increased customer satisfaction, reduced time requirements and lowered costs—a win for all who are involved.

[i] Johnson Controls, “INTALEQ, Doha, Qatar – World Cup 2022” (December 2022): https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/insights/2022/video/intaleq-doha-qatar

[ii] International Energy Agency: https://www.iea.org/topics/buildings

[iii] U.S. Department of Energy, “System Retrofit Trends in Commercial Buildings: Opportunities for Deeper Energy Savings” (July 2020): https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/articles/system-retrofit-trends-commercial-buildings-opportunities-deeper-energy