Project Details

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Digital Twin-Based HVAC Simulation

Company: Automated Logic Corporation

Major(s):
Primary: CMPSC
Secondary: ME
Optional: EGEE

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

This pilot aims to modernize HVAC simulation by transitioning from a rigid, full-system approach to a modular, component-level dynamic modeling strategy. Instead of replicating entire building systems—which vary widely—we will create dynamic models for individual components such as coils, valves, fans, sensors, and control logic. These components can then be virtually assembled to represent unique configurations, similar to LEGO blocks. The enhanced simulation will integrate historical weather data (initially using State College, PA) to provide realistic startup responses and allow users to select typical dates or ranges to replicate real-world variability. Compared to current manual approaches, this modular solution will deliver immediate feedback for logic validation, reducing commissioning issues and improving startup speed. It will also support predictive insights for better PID tuning and enhance internal training through controlled environments rather than high-pressure, real-time conditions. ** Long-Term Vision ** The goal is to enable comprehensive pre-functional testing before deploying validated sequences to generic control platforms, reducing friction and paving the way for innovations such as predictive maintenance and energy optimization. Interoperability via BACnet The simulation model will expose control points as read/write through the BACnet communication protocol, ensuring that any BACnet-compliant controller can interact with the model for testing and validation. This approach allows controllers to negotiate with the virtual system as they would with a physical system, enabling realistic pre-functional testing and logic verification—without requiring access to proprietary source code.