BIM and Digital Twin for Electrical Systems: A Case Study of an Industrial Building

Building Information Modeling (BIM) initially originated in the construction field but has taken wide scale across all other sectors, especially in electrical systems. This paper presents the main steps and outcomes of creating a BIM model of the electrical components to conduct various analyses and simulations. The potentialities of Extended Reality (XR) technologies were investigated for the design and management of electrical systems toward the Digital Twin idea. Lighting simulations, power calculations, interference detection, and maintenance planning are some of the results obtained in the paper by using BIM tools. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate, through the analysis of a case study, that a BIM based Digital Twin prototype can bring several benefits (e.g. electrical data management for maintenance) and increased training and skill development opportunities with the XR technologies. Possible improvements and future challenges are mentioned in the next future in the field of BIM and Digital Twin for electrical systems in industrial buildings.