Leader of the Eco-Efficient Technologies
The increased interest to the green buildings construction, eco-friendliness of which can be confirmed by international certificates such as LEED, BREEAM, and others, is not just a fad or a demonstration of respect for the environment. It is also an economically balanced approach aimed to reducing operating costs. If the building is recognized as the green one it means that it is energy efficient and as a result it is possible to optimize the maintenance costs. Such solutions are offered by Finnish elevator and escalator company KONE.
KONE specialists have conducted the extensive study of the environmental impact produced by lifting equipment and mobile transporting systems, which are installed in modern office and residential buildings worldwide. It was found that these equipments are risk-free in terms of ecology. Even during the manufacturing process the negative environmental impact is minimized. Besides, the elevators, escalators and passenger conveyors are 80-90% recyclable as they are mainly metal composed that makes them environmentally harmless.
However, they also have some drawbacks due to the energy expenditure required for these systems operation. In other words, the damage caused by CO2 emissions into atmosphere is caused by elevation systems themselves, but rather by energy production in amount which is needed for keeping this lifting systems in movement. So, it is not surprising that KONE’s efforts on its products improvement are mainly focused on the ecological and energy consumption efficiency.
To solve this problem it has been chosen the several areas of modernization. For example, lifts, escalators and other mechanisms have been provided with the regeneration system, which essence is as follows: when the elevator or escalator is moving down it not only uses less energy, but also generate it (i.e. the potential energy, which is formed during the motion). Recovery system allows converting the potential energy into electricity and return it surplus back into the system. As a result, the energy savings are quite ponderable. Thus, during peak charges KONE escalators can save up to 7100 kilowatt-hours per year, and the elevators can return to the system 20 - 35% of consumed energy.
Full version you can download here
Materials provided by KONE