A digital twin platform for building performance monitoring and optimization: Performance simulation and case studies

Li, Han; Hong, Tianzhen

doi:10.1007/s12273-025-1290-2

A digital twin platform for building performance monitoring and optimization: Performance simulation and case studies

Journal Article · Fri Jun 13 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Building Simulation

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-025-1290-2· OSTI ID:2572505

Li, Han ^[1]; Hong, Tianzhen ^[1]

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Advancements in sensor technology, data analytics, affordable compute, and communication infrastructure have paved the way for Digital Twin technology in optimizing building operations and controls. This study presents the development of an open and interoperable web-based Digital Twin platform for integrating diverse data streams and facilitating effective user interactions. The platform utilizes modern technologies for the web framework and time-series data management, ensuring scalability and responsiveness. The backend supports seamless integration of diverse data sources and emulators, incorporating data from building sensors and meters, external weather Application Programming Interfaces, and advanced EnergyPlus simulation models of the building and its energy systems including the Distributed Energy Resources that are formulated in Functional Mockup Units. A simulation case study was conducted with FlexLab, a test facility on Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory campus. The case study includes normal operations, Distributed Energy Resource integration, and power outage scenarios, to illustrate the Digital Twin’s ability to provide critical insights into energy performance and thermal resilience. The results demonstrated the platform’s potential as a decision-support tool for optimizing building energy performance and enhancing resilience against extreme weather events. Future work will focus on deploying the Digital Twin platform to a real building for field validation, extending its capabilities to cover more scenarios such as bidirectional Electric Vehicle interactions, and enhancing user engagement.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 2572505

Journal Information:: Building Simulation, Journal Name: Building Simulation Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 18; ISSN 1996-8744; ISSN 1996-3599

Publisher:: SpringerCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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