Designing urban sites that consume less energy is one of AGORA’s priorities; district digital twins are revolutionary tools for achieving this. These virtual twins make it easier to simulate energy consumption and climate change scenarios, ‘making it possible to optimise neighbourhood urban design and energy management’, explain Yves-Biwer, director and coordinator of the AGORA Metzeschmelz project and Jean-Philippe Lemaire, founder of IDES Engineering.
Remind us what a digital twin is and how it can be used to achieve greater energy efficiency
Jean-Philippe Lemaire, civil engineer and founder of IDES Engineering: ‘The digital twin is a virtual representation of a building or district, consisting of an immersive, highly precise, and comprehensive 3D model that accurately integrates a wide range of physical data from the structure. For an energy engineer like me, it is a valuable tool because it documents both the geometry and materiality of the neighborhood—for example, the volumes of buildings and roads—and the energy flows, such as electricity networks and energy production infrastructures. It can be used to simulate and predict how an area will operate during the design stage, such as in the Metzeschmelz district, and to optimise its energy planning after analysing the results of different simulations’.
Yves-Biwer, coordinating director Metzeschmelz, AGORA: ‘The digital twin also facilitates energy management in existing districts. In other words, we use it during the operational phases of the district, as in Belval. In this case, the tool is used to monitor and analyse consumption, and then adapt and improve energy management based on actual data. This form of modelling has never been performed before on the same work tool’.
Can you give a concrete example of a simulation in the design phase?
Jean-Philippe Lemaire: ‘As part of the design of the Metzeschmelz district, for example, digital models and dynamic simulations have been used to identify the thermal behaviour of buildings before they are constructed. In particular, we determine what their heating or cooling requirements will be in a situation where the environment warms up, taking into account not only volume but also anticipated function and occupancy, as well as the building’s position in relation to the sun at different times of the day. The twin enables us to simulate various scenarios using the data it has been provided, which covers all these aspects’.
Can you give a specific example of a digital twin for district energy management during the operational phase?
Yves Biwer: ‘Let’s take Belval as an example. A digital twin of the district has existed for some time, made possible thanks to collaboration with researchers at the LIST (Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology). It wasn’t implemented in the district design and we’re only just beginning to use it – we are at an embryonic stage. Nevertheless, we can already observe and analyse the district’s current energy consumption and draw conclusions from this. Another use is in progress: investors and developers looking to construct new buildings are running architectural simulations that take into account Belval’s heating network and electricity consumption.
What technologies or methods could shape the next advancements of the digital twin?
Jean-Philippe Lemaire: ‘Without going into technical details, let’s mention the potential integration of the Internet of Things (IoT). This technology allows us to couple data from connected meters or sensors, which collect environmental information, with models capable of performing predictive simulations to analyze variations in energy consumption. Artificial intelligence is also a highly promising tool, not only for supplying the digital twin with data but also for optimizing the resulting simulations by interacting with all its components. There are virtually no limits to the data a digital twin can hold or the channels used to feed it. Its potential for synthesizing and analyzing data is immense.’
What are the biggest challenges you face?
Yves Biwer: ‘The challenges are not specific to energy management, but compatibility with existing systems. Making the twin available on our workstations at AGORA has sometimes been difficult, as the computer operating systems are sometimes heterogeneous, or obsolete in relation to what the twin requires. As this is a collaboration tool used with various external partners, this compatibility challenge is replicated among our employees. Managing large amounts of data is also a challenge for an organisation like ours. But we are adaptable! The tool’s benefits more than compensate for these little hiccups.
Urban gardens, smart cities, eco-neighbourhoods or temporary occupation of urban space, Through the voice of experts, “Tell me more! ” is a series that explores new trends.
