Why did you choose Priva and VB Optimum?
Bryan: "We had been looking for a long time for an innovative way to save energy that fits the building, the company and the message we convey. Of course, Lely's tenants were not to be inconvenienced by any system. After some introductions and explanations by Frank Visscher of VB Optimum, it was clear that the Digital Twin of ecoBuilding would help us further. Not only by saving money, but also by completely screening the climate system. For our needs, this was the best choice."
How did the implementation go in practice?
Bryan: "First, we had the system vetted by the experts at VB-optimum and Kropman, our installer. This was done to build the Digital Twin. While vetting the installation, we got immediate feedback on how it worked, how it was 'conceived' and how it was now being used. Inefficiencies could be picked out this way. That feedback was very useful."
"Once the Digital Twin was built and connected to the servers, it was able to start reading along and 'learning'. This allowed the Twin to start recognizing how the building was responding and to make new predictions based on that. From the feedback of that data, the next set of optimizations emerged."
What is a Digital Twin?
"A Digital Twin is a digital 'copy' of a building and its climate system, which is connected to the building management system (BMS). Then ecoBuilding goes to work monitoring that climate installation and gets to know the building well."
"ecoBuilding provides feedback on whether all installations are functioning as desired, both in terms of specifications and user requirements. ecoBuilding is a completely self-learning system (AI). It even looks at the weather forecast for the next 24 hours so that energy consumption can be optimized.
"If the sun is on the building for half the day, it heats up faster, then you don't need to heat as much. Thanks to the adjustment from ecoBuilding, we save on costs and energy without sacrificing comfort."
Bram confirms: "The Digital Twin has been running for a year now and we see that we save a lot of energy under certain conditions. The results are very promising. This is why we decided to continue the rollout of ecoBuilding to our other building on the Lely Campus. The building was delivered last year as BREEAM - Outstanding. So it is already a super energy efficient building. We want to see how ecoBuilding can deliver even more efficiency in that building."
Bram explains how ecoBuilding is used to 'write' data in addition to reading out:
"The information we receive from ecoBuilding is so valuable that in April 2022 we made the choice to have the Digital Twin 'on' permanently."
"Since then, we know more and more about our facilities and are making great strides in saving energy. For now, we have not yet included the Power Plant with CHP (Combined Heat Power), because of possible risks. However, given the good results, we plan to add the ATES (Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage/System) to the Digital Twin soon as well."
Bryan adds: "Furthermore, we are also adding new layouts and PV panels to the Twin. With this, we are doing part 'continuous commissioning' and preparing for a smarter building. By the way, the office spaces in this building are also full of Priva's bGrid modules. I'm very excited about the possibilities that bGrid offers together with ecoBuilding."
What does the future of Weverskade look like?
Bram: "In 2030 we as Weverskade want to be CO₂ neutral on Scope 1 and 2. To achieve that, we take steps every day with sustainable, innovative and profitable property management and operation for Lely and the other tenant."
"Ultimately, our mission is to make the world a better place and leave good behind for future generations. That's what we do it for."
