A building service on the way up

Innovative elevator systems save energy and waiting time

Lifts can be heavy consumers of power. Accordingly, there are plans for new lifts to be issued with energy performance certificates in future. Modern elevators are ready for the challenge and feature exciting new technologies.

New systems for lift management avoid empty trips, make fewer stops and reduce idle time and the associated power consumption. Passengers benefit from shorter waiting and travel times.

Single automatic push button operation (on demand)
To serve any and all stops, calls are stored and processed one after the other in sequence. If a call cannot be processed within five minutes it is cancelled to avoid empty trips. For goods elevators with a loading function, an occupied sign appears when in use.

Duplex down collective control
This system controls a pair of elevators and registers all car push buttons and floor calls. The first car available serves all floors on the way down in sequence until it reaches the main stop, whereas the other car operates in an upward direction. A corresponding direction indicator is displayed at every stop.

Recent studies have shown that the power consumption of lifts in standby mode is surprisingly high, accounting for between 25 and 80% of the total. Appropriate energy-saving solutions are already on the market.

Non-halogen car lighting in the form of fluorescent tubes or LED spots. Compared to halogen bulbs, LED spots reduce energy consumption by 80% and last 12 times longer, making them ideal for use in lifts.

Energy-saving mode in standby for the drive, ventilation system and lighting reduces power consumption when the lift is not in use.

New energy-saving group algorithms enable individual lifts to be shut down depending on traffic, overnight or for the weekend.

Drive systems consist of a transmission system, motor and frequency control system. Carefully matching these components allows new, energy-efficient solutions.
As a rule, modern drive systems feature:

Energy recovery
Power consumption can be reduced significantly courtesy of a recovery function. When a loaded elevator travels downwards, it has kinetic energy. This energy is normally lost during braking. A regenerative solution stores this braking energy in an accumulator and converts it into electrical current. On the next trip upwards, the energy is released again. This kind of energy recovery allows significant reductions in the amount of power consumed by elevators, but will only deliver real benefits if the lift is used a lot.

Gearless drives
Drive units of this type are exceptionally energy-efficient. They require only low starting current, run without oil and provide the option of energy recovery. Gearless drives are good in terms of energy savings and environmental impact while offering excellent ride comfort, high output and precision floor levelling.