In 2022, building operations accounted for 25% of UK emissions. Notably, the higher education sector, whilst accounting for only 2% of the country’s building stock, is the second most energy intensive. Innovative methods to lower energy use in these institutions are essential.
A digital twin (DT) is a virtual model representing the operations and system configurations of a building’s physical object. DTs can be used to perform energy simulations and investigate the source of performance gaps, which relate to the difference between predicted and actual energy performance of a building.
During the summer of 2023, a digital twin of the Andrew Wiles Building (Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford) was created in two different configurations. The first reflected its originally planned operations, and the second its actual performance, including equipment malfunctions. Differences in simulated energy consumption between the first and second configurations were used to understand the building’s performance gaps. Simulated interventions resulted in a 22% reduc#on in electricity usage for the year 2022, meeting CIBSE best practice standards. These results were shared with the building’s management staff for further exploration.
Overall, this study showcases how DT energy simulations are an effective tool to identify performance gaps in university buildings and can be a great asset for building operators to test out intervention impacts virtually before actual implementation.
