Classifying the operational energy performance of buildings with the use of digital twins

The classification of the energy efficiency of buildings with the use of the energy performance certificate, constitutes a common practice for the building energy assessment performance community. The main stream in the field is the so-called asset rating, that is the calculation of the energy performance of buildings, whereas another option for the definition of the energy class of a building relies on its measured performance, named operational rating. Despite the fact that significant progress has been achieved in the field of smart sensors and smart buildings, effective solutions related to the employment of Industry 4.0 practices, such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) or digital twins are not employed for the operational rating of buildings energy performance. This study aspires to introduce a comprehensive framework for the operational assessment of buildings energy performance, with the use of advanced tools and practices for building digitization. For the purpose of this study, a relevant set of operational indicators was employed, with the purpose to provide information, both to the landlords and the tenants, related to the actual energy performance of the building. The novelty of this study relies on the fact that for the extraction of the operational rating, a digital twin environment was used, employing smart sensors, real time measurements and a BIM environment. Within this study, the proposed concepts are demonstrated in a case study building of mixed used. This study aims to shed light to the development of practices for the remote and smart real time energy assessment of building units.