ENERGY SAVING AND ENVIRONMENT

It is essential to remember the importance of energy saving in general, and, in particular, when controlling lift systems.
However, it is worth noting that, especially in residential buildings, the energy consumed by a lift is equivalent to around 1% of the total, although the cost percentage may be a little higher since, at present (and in our view unjustly), it is penalised by the fixed connection charge, which is calculated on the basis of the system power rating rather than the actual power it consumes.
Hence, the energy consumed by a lift system should not be regarded as a serious problem when compared, for example, to the thermal insulation of buildings.
For these reasons, the energy consumed by lift systems is not included in the energy certification calculations that must be carried out for new and existing buildings, in accordance with the European Directive 2002/91/EC.
However, provided that it justifies the initial investment costs, any saving should be welcome.
In this context, recent studies have shown that it is possible to achieve savings in the region of 25/30% simply by modifying the cabin lighting system.
In fact, in the past in Italy it was obligatory to fit lifts with lighting systems that were permanently illuminated, so that, in the event of a fault, the passengers trapped in the lift would not be left in darkness.
Nowadays, when installing new lift systems, they must be equipped with emergency lighting systems that are activated in such cases. In the future, these systems, which naturally consume less energy, will also be installed on existing lifts systems, in accordance with the decree of 23rd July 2009.
It will be possible to take advantage of this situation to install non-permanent lighting systems that are only illuminated when the cabin is moving, replacing neons, and even normal incandescent light bulbs, with LEDs, which consume very little energy yet produce good quality lighting. In contrast to neon lighting, such systems can easily be switched off when the cabin is not moving.
Similar solutions can be adopted for the cabin occupied and present, and lift position and direction indicators, which, when taken individually, consume very little Energy, but when taken as a whole and over a period of time may reach considerable levels.
None of the above measures are costly (naturally, we will prepare quotations based on the customer’s individual requirements), especially when compared to alternative, high-technology solutions that may even have an adverse effect in terms of energy consumption.
In recent years, for example, a number of companies in the lift sector been introducing battery powered, direct current motor technology (instead of traditional three phase, alternating current asynchronous motors), extolling the fact that the coupling power is very low, around one kW. In reality, these systems, which supply large numbers of batteries 24 hours a day, every day, consume significantly more energy than traditional electrical or hydraulic lift systems.
As ever, Koppel A.W. offers its customers advice on how to select economical and efficient systems that best suit their needs.