Building Energy Efficiency through the Application of Digital Twin-based BEMS

Building energy management systems (BEMS) are widely used to improve building energy efficiency. However, beyond simple monitoring and management, there are still limitations to implementing specific methods for energy savings and efficiency improvements during the operational phase. Simultaneously, the concept of a digital twin (DT) has been actively researched as a concept for the interaction of data and operational information between real buildings and virtual models. By integrating the DT concept into the BEMS, smooth communication between real buildings and virtual models is possible. A virtual model is defined as a mathematical model that describes physical behavior during the operational phases of a real building. This model can provide building energy efficiency methods based on real building data and the physical behavior of the building. Therefore, this study proposes a DT-based BEMS (DT-BEMS). A DT-BEMS consists of predicted mean vote (PMV) virtual sensors, energy sub-metering virtual sensors, and Holistic Operational Signature (HOS) analysis methods. Utilizing data from the BEMS, PMV virtual sensors obtain the PMV in real residential areas. After applying the virtual sensors, the HOS categorizes the operational states and offers energy optimization information. In this study, a DT-BEMS environment was developed for an office building. Thus, an organic process was realized in which real building data were transmitted through virtual models to provide energy efficiency information back to the target building.