On a Power(less) trip

As urbanisation takes over, high rise buildings are known to consume about 40 per cent of the world’s energy and elevators account for between two to 10 per cent of a building’s energy use. But now, with more ‘Green’ buildings coming up, leading elevator manufacturers are trying their utmost to get those numbers down. BusinessLine learns from Otis India President, Sebi Joseph, how far the company has reached in its green elevator initiative. Excerpts:

Otis is in the process of promoting green elevators. What are the key features that made you enter this category?

Otis’ flagship product line, the Gen2 range, is geared towards efficiency whilst providing environmentally responsible features and benefits. Otis has sold more than 5,00,000 of such elevators worldwide since its launch.

Some of the key components of the range are the coated steel belt, the ReGen drive, the permanent magnet machine and the Otis’ Pulse system all of which, when combined, increase the life, efficiency, safety and reliability of the elevator system.

Because of the way elevators use a counterweight, when an empty elevator travels up or a fully loaded elevator travels down, energy is created and is often wasted as heat. The ReGen drive turns this energy into electricity and then feeds this captured power back into the building’s electrical grid for reuse by other building systems like lighting.

The ReGen drive produces “clean power” thanks to low harmonic distortion, which minimises impact on the building’s electrical system and helps protect sensitive equipment.

The Otis Gen2 elevator and ReGen drive combine to reduce energy consumption by up to 75 per cent under normal operating conditions, compared to conventional systems with non-regenerative drives.

The Gen2 elevator family has been designed to reduce vibration and minimise noise, resulting in a better experience for those riding inside as well as those living nearby. Conventional steel ropes are replaced with coated flat steel belts, eliminating the noise and friction created by the metal-to-metal contact of conventional systems. The low-noise gearless machine mounted on isolation rubber pad, works toward creating this impact.

The compact gearless machine and coated steel belts also require no additional lubrication, eliminating the need for storage, cleanup and disposal of hazardous waste.

What growth potential do you see for green elevators in India?

As urbanisation drives the increased need for housing, the need for smart and efficient technologies to support growth is a must. As of January 2016, the Indian Green Building Council ( IGBC) has 3.18 billion sq ft of registered real estate under development as ‘Green’. This constitutes over 3,465 buildings. Developers and building owners are becoming environmentally conscious and thereby aim for green certifications like LEED and others. We see the Gen2 elevator as a way of supporting this growth.

In India, we offer several models of the elevator. They include the Gen2 Switch, which uses a battery to capture the energy produced by the ReGen drive. If there is a power outage, the elevator can make 100 trips in a seven-storey building. Another is the Gen2 Core, which we introduced late last year to meet the needs of the mass and affordable housing segments.

One of the main indicators of green technology is the energy saving ability of the product. What levels have Otis elevators achieved with regenerative drives and what are the goals going forward?

When it comes to energy efficiency, Gen2 elevators have earned outstanding ratings. The validation is based on standards set by engineering association Verein Deutscher Ingenieure. VDI established its 4,707 standards to clearly assess elevator energy performance taking into account factors such as load, speed, frequency of use and travel height — both during travel and standby modes. An elevator’s energy demand is rated using seven different classes from A to G, where A reflects the highest rating possible (the least energy used) and G the lowest rating (the most energy used). VDI measures energy efficiency based on usage category on a scale from one to five, where one represents low-use systems and five represents high-use elevators. Gen2 earned us the highest efficiency class rating.

Our elevators also come with additional energy-saving options. LED lighting inside the cab can reduce overall energy consumption and elevators can be put into standby mode during low-traffic times, reducing overall energy use.

Clean technology includes reuse and recycle, are you working towards these goals as well?

Our recently expanded manufacturing facility in Bengaluru meets the IGBC rating system at the Gold certification level and we are aiming to earn this certification soon. Both the manufacturing area and office workspace use natural light and the entire facility is provided with water-efficient supply and sanitary fixtures. All domestic water is treated and recycled for irrigation and there are two rain water harvesting tanks. The shop lighting is being transformed in terms of quantity of power required to light up the shop. The old high-wattage MV lamps are being replaced with LED lights, thereby reducing the electricity burden. Chemicals used in paint line pre-treatment of jobs have been changed to chemicals that do not contain any heavy metals and are thereby less harmful to the environment... There have been numerous initiatives implemented to reduce product packing materials and maximise reusable packaging.

Your Gen 2 Switch elevator is said to be compatible with solar and wind energy. Have these capabilities been proven in installed projects?

The Gen2 Switch is an easy to install, single-phase battery operated elevator system that will be a boon to parts of India that suffer from frequent power cuts. It consumes less power than household electronics like the hair dryer and microwave. It has been successfully installed with solar applications. Of note, a social housing project near Nantes, France has won awards for its energy-saving capabilities. The solar panels produce 80 per cent of the energy the elevators consume each year. Otis reached similar levels of performance at an installation in a 100-year-old building in Vienna, Austria.

In elevators with lubrication free operation, what is the cost saving for a client?

The Gen2 machine uses sealed bearings that don’t require additional lubrication. In addition, the innovative design delivers saving for lubrications up to 96 per cent when compared to the conventional geared elevator. But the benefit is more than economic. By reducing the need for additional lubrication, we’ve also reduced the need for storage, cleanup and disposal of lubrication waste.

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