Los Angeles the latest city to adopt digital twin technology to cut carbon emissions | News
Cityzenith, a Chicago-based digital twin platform, announced last week that it is partnering with the Los Angeles branch of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge to help construct a digital twin, or virtual replica, of a section of the city to help make its buildings more sustainable and reduce carbon emissions.
— Construction Dive
The project will initially center on the downtown Los Angeles neighborhood of Bunker Hill. Cityzenith’s SmartWorld digital twin product will be implemented to enable building owners to simulate their financial paths to net-zero emissions. This is part of Cityzenith’s "Clean Cities — Clean Future" initiative, which provides cities with a free digital twin in order to virtually test potential decarbonization efforts before implementing costly plans in the real world.
As noted by Melissa Goldin of Construction Dive, the Bunker Hill project will focus on data related to decarbonization efforts for a major public building and the surrounding area. Energy or building management systems, occupancy readings, and architectural information are among the variables that will be examined. The digital twin will have the potential to expand to cover the rest of the city and address other city planning issues.
Cityzenith CEO Michael Jansen also shared with Goldin, "some of the issues Los Angeles is hoping to address are heating and cooling strategies." He adds, "the sheer scale of the Los Angeles project also makes it unique as does the potential to study microclimates – atmospheric conditions that are different from ones in surrounding areas."
Los Angeles is the latest city to demonstrate Cityzenith’s digital twin technology, following New York, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. The company aims to bring digital twins to ten cities through the initiative as its first benchmark, with potential announcements in Chicago and Houston soon to come.
Gloss