What is the difference between a digital twin and BIM?

BIM is a design and construction model of a building. A digital twin is fed by live operational data, so it reflects current states and changes as the site runs.

Does a digital twin need 3D graphics?

No. Graphics help people read it, but the value is in the live data and modeled relationships. A water balance or single line diagram can be a twin without any 3D view.

What data does a facility digital twin use?

Meters, sensors, BMS and BAS points, equipment controllers and sometimes utility bills, organized into a hierarchy of sites, floors, zones and devices.

Can a digital twin control equipment?

A twin can be the place from which commands are issued. In Aqueduct, control is available only where it is enabled, with owner approval, and every command is recorded.

Glossary

Operations and asset management

What is Digital twin?

Definition

A digital twin is a live virtual model of a physical site or system that mirrors its assets, their current states and how they connect, updated continuously from real data. Unlike a static drawing or BIM file, a digital twin changes as the site changes, so teams can see, analyze and act on actual conditions.

What it is

The term is used loosely, so it helps to be precise. A drawing or a 3D model shows how a site was designed. A digital twin shows how it is running now, because it is fed by meters, sensors and control systems.

A useful facility twin captures three things: the assets, their live states, and the relationships between them. For water that might be the balance from incoming supply to each zone. For electricity it might be the single line from the main switchboard to each panel. For HVAC it might be each rooftop unit and its components.

Once those relationships are modeled, the twin can show where a loss or fault sits in the system, not just that a number has changed.

Where it is used

Digital twins are used in airports, hospitals, campuses, stadiums, data centers, manufacturing, dairy plants, commercial portfolios and water networks. They are most useful where many systems interact and where operators need one view across them.

What evidence it needs

A twin is only as good as the data and structure behind it.

A site hierarchy of sites, floors, zones and devices
Live data from meters, sensors and BMS points
Modeled relationships such as water balance or electrical single line
Clear handling of missing or stale data

How Aqueduct helps

In Aqueduct, every module reads from one site hierarchy, so the digital twin is the same model operators use to find, fix and verify issues.

Block-by-block water balance in aQ WaterGuard that shows where unaccounted flow sits
Electrical single line views in aQ EnergySmart from main supply to each load
Per-unit HVAC component states in aQ AirSafe, alongside room air quality
3D views with every asset and its state on one pane, refreshed every 60 seconds