Digital twin tools increase operational efficiency and decarbonisation

Schneider Electric, a specialist in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, has announced significant upgrades to its digital twin tools for water and district energy utilities, EcoStruxure Water Cycle Advisor – District Energy (formerly ‘Termis’) and EcoStruxure Water Cycle Advisor – Water Simulation (formerly ‘Aquis’).

These latest releases announced by Schneider Electric, which have been grouped in version 8.2 of the software, deliver powerful benefits to users seeking to maximise digital capabilities to ensure efficiency, quality and insight across the water and district energy lifecycles. 

With advanced data and formula capabilities, alongside a range of usability improvements, District Energy and Water Simulation deliver on Schneider Electric’s promise to ensure companies reach maximum efficiency while supporting decarbonisation, reducing water and heat loss, and ensuring network operation optimisation. 

Digital transformation
Today’s modernised and digitised water and district energy utilities rely on vast amounts of data to ensure efficiency and quality. To support next-generation digital transformation across the lifecycle, both District Energy and Water Simulation now deliver optimised data management performance. 

The new releases harness new asynchronous database data insertion processes, using parallel computing to ensure data is delivered quickly. Similarly, new algorithms, including a topological sorter and step tag processor, significantly speed up data processing and deliver efficient historical data reprocessing.  

Not only do the latest upgrades deliver on speed and efficiency in big data management, but the user experience has been optimised to ensure ease of use, no matter the size of the data. For example, importing tens of thousands of real-time tags for online network optimisation can now be completed in just a few seconds. The same performance improvements are seen across step functions, processing, and reprocessing, reducing computation times from hours to seconds. 

Additionally, users can take advantage of improved .csv export functionality. Making the most of the data and calculations made possible through District Energy and Water Simulation, users can now export all information related to any object in the model for a given simulation, or a fraction of it, via .csv files.

Future-proof
Water Simulation and District Energy users now also benefit from a new formula editor, Neptune. Alongside optimising existing programming functions, users are now able to create custom key performance indicators using one of the world’s most powerful and supported programming languages in C#, alongside Roslyn.  

Commenting on the latest iteration of these powerful digital tools, Jose María Santos, Product Manager of District Energy and Water Simulation at Schneider Electric, said, “We are dedicated to ensuring that our water utility and district energy customers have the most powerful digital capabilities at their fingertips to reach ambitious goals across quality, efficiency, and sustainability, which is particularly important in the context of today’s climate and energy crisis.  

“The latest release of EcoStruxure Water Cycle Advisor – District Energy and EcoStruxure Water Cycle Advisor – Water Simulation tools will help users to acquire and process external data as well as extend software capabilities by creating custom KPIs more safely and faster. We continue to work closely with our partners across the industry to provide the expertise and digital transformation solutions that deliver sustainability and operational advancements.” 

Schneider Electric continues to invest in developing digital twin solutions for water, wastewater and district energy utilities. The next releases of the offers will include AI modules for predictive analytics, improved user experience and performance, integration with thirdparty systems, and a set of new features that will continue to drive customers towards the industries of the future. www.se.com