4 ms·
This is an extremely ambitious project, and hopefully turns out to be worthwhile. For complex/interconnected systems, building ~accurate simulations can vastly
by thisisbrians 6y ago
This is an extremely ambitious project, and hopefully turns out to be worthwhile. For complex/interconnected systems, building ~accurate simulations can vastly decrease the cost of decision-making, and I'm very bullish on digital twin technology, generally. Trying things out in a simulation can be a cheap way to guide more detailed engineering analysis and 'rough in' an approach.
As an example, my startup, Bractlet (bractlet.com), uses detailed, physics-based energy simulation (aka "digital energy twin") technology as a tool to optimize HVAC design and controls in large commercial buildings. I'm sure efficacy varies widely by domain, but it's worked extremely well for us so far; we typically help our customers save about 20-30% on their energy expenditures annually, and the digital twin is the bedrock of our approach.
- datalus 6y agoI also like the digital twin concept as it applies to sci-fi. Sometimes I daydream our universe is a digital twin built by an advanced civilization meant to simulate the universe's history looking for clues as to what lead to a calamity that they're trying to undo. Random thought :)
- eightysixfour 6y agoCan/does your system simulate the quality of the air as well? In particular particulate matter and CO2 levels.
- thisisbrians 6y agoWe've given this a lot of attention in the age of Covid, as you might imagine. Many modern HVAC control systems include CO₂ sensors in the return air streams to make sure they're bringing in enough outdoor air to meet indoor air quality standards, and that's fairly easy to simulate. Particulate counts are trickier, and may be better estimated using out-of-simulation engineering calculations based on the type of filtration in place.
- eightysixfour 6y agoInteresting, mind if I shoot you an email? My family has a business in this space (residential side) and I'd love to chat more.
- thisisbrians 6y agoSure! brian at bractlet dot com
- nydev 6y agoFascinating. Would love to see a "digital energy twin" product for residential properties.
- thisisbrians 6y agoWould love to hear what you're thinking! We've prioritized commercial office as it's great bang-for-buck for our business, but we'd love to expand to other verticals in the future.
- nydev 6y agoEssentially, provide a way to build a digital "twin" version of my house, and get advice about improving heating/cooling efficiency.
- saeranv 6y agoInteresting, I have a couple of questions: - How do model random variables with high variance like occupancy or equipment use? Are you using sensor/monitoring equipment or just trying to model it as best as you can? - Did you guys use the initial energy model (built by by the design/consultant team) or do you guys build your model from scratch? - What energy simulation engine do you guys use? I'm just curious if there's any big advantage between the engines for digital twin applications.
- thisisbrians 6y ago- We use a ton of empirical time series data from the building to calibrate the model. - There's almost never a model. We build it from scratch in every case. - We have a highly customized fork of EnergyPlus. They are all difficult to use in our experience, but EnergyPlus allows us to get the detail required for our needs.