Blog:
Why Digital Twins are essential for building owners

In the built environment, a digital twin is an accurate digital representation of a physical component, system or process. How sophisticated it is can vary. It can be as simple as a mechanical component for which its performance can be seen, analysed and controlled virtually. Or it could be of a whole system, or system of systems within a building.

However, the foundation of a digital twin lies in the building’s information. The goal is to create a single system of record where all the data related to the asset is easily accessible, consistent and updated throughout its lifecycle – from design and construction to operation and maintenance.

Why do we need Digital Twins?

• Optimising building performance
  A digital twin provides real-time, actionable data on how a building is performing. Whether it’s monitoring temperature, air quality or energy consumption, this live data helps facility managers make informed decisions to optimise the building’s efficiency. For example, integrating a digital twin with a Building Management System (BMS) allows operators to visualise occupancy patterns, lighting needs and energy consumption, making it easier to reduce waste and streamline operations.

  By offering insights into how a building functions under different conditions, asset owners benefit from cost savings and improved asset value. This can be achieved by using the insights to enhance performance, reduce energy consumption and improve sustainability.

• Decarbonising the built environment
  Buildings are responsible for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions. Reducing this footprint requires smarter, more energy-efficient buildings. Digital twins enable asset owners to simulate and test various energy performance scenarios during design and construction. By creating a “sandbox” environment, they can test the impact of changes in energy consumption, lighting and thermal performance.

  Once the building is operational, the digital twin provides real-time feedback. By tracking and optimising energy usage, operators can make more sustainable decisions. This data-driven approach directly contributes to decarbonising the built environment and aligning with sustainability goals.

• Predictive maintenance
  One of the most valuable aspects of a digital twin is its ability to provide predictive maintenance insights. By analysing real-time data on the performance of building systems, digital twins can detect potential issues before they lead to costly failures. This enables asset owners to schedule maintenance proactively, which helps to avoid unplanned downtime and extends the lifespan of key systems.

  Predictive maintenance helps to reduce operating costs and also enhances the reliability of a building’s infrastructure.

• Enhancing environments
  Digital twins can also enhance the environment for occupiers and building users. They help to improve comfort, air quality and overall wellbeing. By monitoring systems like HVAC, lighting and ventilation, digital twins help ensure that conditions are maintained at optimal levels. This leads to healthier, more comfortable indoor environments. Predictive maintenance can also lead to reduced downtime caused by equipment failures, ensuring facilities run smoothly and minimising disruptions for occupants.
• Improving collaboration and productivity
  Digital twins centralise all asset information in a single platform. This makes it more accessible to key stakeholders during the building’s lifecycle. Design documents, material specifications, maintenance schedules and performance data can be easily shared and accessed in real time. This improves collaboration between architects, engineers, contractors and facility managers. In turn this reduces the risk of any miscommunication and errors. Everyone benefits from smoother project execution and better long-term management.
• Whole-life value and ROI
  The return on investment (ROI) for digital twins stems from the long-term savings and efficiencies gained through better data management, decision-making and maintenance. By predicting maintenance needs, optimising energy usage and improving overall asset performance, digital twins help asset owners reduce operational costs and maximise the lifetime value of their buildings.

  When asset owners are able to accurately demonstrate the current condition of the building, and its previous history, it can increase the value of the asset significantly. Additionally, the insights gained from digital twins can help improve future designs and construction projects.

The future of Digital Twins: AI and machine learning

As AI and machine learning technologies continue to advance, future digital twins will be capable of even more sophisticated analysis. These systems could learn from historical data and operational patterns, automatically adjusting building controls to optimise energy efficiency, comfort and safety without any or very little human intervention.

This shift towards autonomous buildings will revolutionise facilities management. Not only will it help to drive down costs, it will also ensure buildings meet the highest standards of sustainability and performance.

Transforming the future of buildings

Digital twins are more than just digital representations of physical buildings. They can be used to help asset owners manage, optimise and future-proof their buildings. By providing real-time data, enabling predictive maintenance and improving energy efficiency, digital twins help asset owners stay ahead of the curve. As the built environment faces increasing pressure to decarbonise and operate more sustainably, the adoption of digital twins will only continue to grow and become an essential part of modern asset management.

To find out more about how Glider helps to enable digital twins, get in touch.