Digital Twins for Reducing Energy Consumption in Buildings: A Review

Buddhika Arsecularatne, Navodana Rodrigo () and Ruidong Chang
Additional contact information
Buddhika Arsecularatne: School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
Navodana Rodrigo: School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
Ruidong Chang: School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-16

Abstract: This research investigates the use of digital twin (DT) technology to improve building energy management and analyse occupant behaviour. DTs perform the function of acting as virtual replicas of physical assets, which facilitates real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision-making. Consequently, energy performance and occupant comfort can be enhanced. This study evaluates the efficiency of DTs in optimising energy usage by a mix of a systematic literature review and scientometric analysis of 466 articles from the Scopus database. Among the main obstacles noted are interoperability issues, privacy and data quality difficulties, and the requirement for a more thorough integration of digital and physical interactions. The results highlight the necessity of standardised frameworks to direct DT implementations and suggest areas for further study, especially in the areas of improving cybersecurity and incorporating occupant behaviour into DT models. This research makes practical recommendations for using DT technology to increase energy efficiency and sustainability in the built environment.

Keywords: built environment; digital twin; energy efficiency; energy management; occupant behaviour; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/21/9275/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/21/9275/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:21:p:9275-:d:1506754

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().