In-situ backup virtual sensor application in building automation systems toward virtual sensing-enabled digital twins

A backup virtual sensor (BVS) is widely used as a benchmark, for redundancy, and as a replacement for a physical sensor to implement intelligent operational applications in digital twin-enabled building systems. BVSs are modeled using various approaches and are employed to enhance physical sensor ne...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Youngwoong Choi, Sungmin Yoon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-02-01
Series:Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25000528
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832573186035679232
author Youngwoong Choi
Sungmin Yoon
author_facet Youngwoong Choi
Sungmin Yoon
author_sort Youngwoong Choi
collection DOAJ
description A backup virtual sensor (BVS) is widely used as a benchmark, for redundancy, and as a replacement for a physical sensor to implement intelligent operational applications in digital twin-enabled building systems. BVSs are modeled using various approaches and are employed to enhance physical sensor networks. BVSs are conventionally developed with built-in methods, that is, the model is built in a controlled environment, such as an experimental or simulation-based system. However, the built-in BVSs may show performance degradations when applied in real complex systems. This is because the real systems may contain unidentified practical uncertainties. Therefore, BVSs must be developed and managed with in-situ methods, that is, under real system environments. Nevertheless, the performance of an in-situ BVS is largely influenced by the training data and modeling methods. Thus, these factors must be considered in the BVS development and engineering process. Against this backdrop, this study suggests knowledge and industrial guidelines for developing high-performance BVSs in digital twin-enabled systems. Case studies are conducted for 64 cases (different training and testing datasets for 112 days) with a real building system to discuss BVS performance in terms of the training data periods, characteristics of the training data, and modeling methods. The research findings (1) offer modeling knowledge, industrial guidelines, a decision-making algorithm for appropriate modeling approaches, and insights into how building engineers implement virtual sensors and apply them to real building systems, and (2) demonstrate real-world applications of the virtual sensor-enabled digital twin in building automation systems.
format Article
id doaj-art-f1f66d0b6ebb4a388b37929e41b6e0c1
institution Kabale University
issn 2214-157X
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
spelling doaj-art-f1f66d0b6ebb4a388b37929e41b6e0c12025-02-02T05:27:28ZengElsevierCase Studies in Thermal Engineering2214-157X2025-02-0166105792In-situ backup virtual sensor application in building automation systems toward virtual sensing-enabled digital twinsYoungwoong Choi0Sungmin Yoon1Department of Global Smart City, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Global Smart City, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea; School of Civil, Architectural Eng., and Landscape Architecture, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea; Corresponding author. Department of Global Smart City, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea.A backup virtual sensor (BVS) is widely used as a benchmark, for redundancy, and as a replacement for a physical sensor to implement intelligent operational applications in digital twin-enabled building systems. BVSs are modeled using various approaches and are employed to enhance physical sensor networks. BVSs are conventionally developed with built-in methods, that is, the model is built in a controlled environment, such as an experimental or simulation-based system. However, the built-in BVSs may show performance degradations when applied in real complex systems. This is because the real systems may contain unidentified practical uncertainties. Therefore, BVSs must be developed and managed with in-situ methods, that is, under real system environments. Nevertheless, the performance of an in-situ BVS is largely influenced by the training data and modeling methods. Thus, these factors must be considered in the BVS development and engineering process. Against this backdrop, this study suggests knowledge and industrial guidelines for developing high-performance BVSs in digital twin-enabled systems. Case studies are conducted for 64 cases (different training and testing datasets for 112 days) with a real building system to discuss BVS performance in terms of the training data periods, characteristics of the training data, and modeling methods. The research findings (1) offer modeling knowledge, industrial guidelines, a decision-making algorithm for appropriate modeling approaches, and insights into how building engineers implement virtual sensors and apply them to real building systems, and (2) demonstrate real-world applications of the virtual sensor-enabled digital twin in building automation systems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25000528Virtual sensingSoft sensorsBuilding automation systemsIn-situ modelingBuilding systemsDigital twins
spellingShingle Youngwoong Choi
Sungmin Yoon
In-situ backup virtual sensor application in building automation systems toward virtual sensing-enabled digital twins
Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
Virtual sensing
Soft sensors
Building automation systems
In-situ modeling
Building systems
Digital twins
title In-situ backup virtual sensor application in building automation systems toward virtual sensing-enabled digital twins
title_full In-situ backup virtual sensor application in building automation systems toward virtual sensing-enabled digital twins
title_fullStr In-situ backup virtual sensor application in building automation systems toward virtual sensing-enabled digital twins
title_full_unstemmed In-situ backup virtual sensor application in building automation systems toward virtual sensing-enabled digital twins
title_short In-situ backup virtual sensor application in building automation systems toward virtual sensing-enabled digital twins
title_sort in situ backup virtual sensor application in building automation systems toward virtual sensing enabled digital twins
topic Virtual sensing
Soft sensors
Building automation systems
In-situ modeling
Building systems
Digital twins
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25000528
work_keys_str_mv AT youngwoongchoi insitubackupvirtualsensorapplicationinbuildingautomationsystemstowardvirtualsensingenableddigitaltwins
AT sungminyoon insitubackupvirtualsensorapplicationinbuildingautomationsystemstowardvirtualsensingenableddigitaltwins