The Technology behind Modern Elevators

The technology behind today’s modern elevators has undergone many developments. It was in 1800s that the elevators were introduced to the world. These elevators, since then, are meeting the growing needs of high-rise buildings and people. Elevators have made movement across the building very and convenient by offering transportation between multiple floors efficiently and safely. While the primitive elevators used ropes and pulleys to function, modern elevators use much more advanced technology. These modern elevators are therefore capable of moving high weight objects and larger number of people as compared to primitive elevators. Considering their control systems and safety devices, elevators have come a long way over the years.

How do these modern elevators exactly operate?

The technology behind the functioning of elevators is quite complex. But if explained easily, as the primitive elevators worked using rope and pulley, the modern elevators also use a pulley-type system. In this system a metal rope is attached to the top of elevator cab that goes up and down through a sheave in engine room. The sheave basically works like a pulley wheel that rotates and tightly grips the metal cable. A weight is attached to the other side of the rope which is equal to the weight of cab and provides balance to the cab. In this way, less energy is required to move the elevator cab up and down.

The elevator cab moves through the elevator shaft. The elevator shaft is actually a tunnel passing through the floors. A motor moves the wheel in either direction so the elevator moves up or down accordingly, and the weight moves in the opposite direction. The motor is activated when you push the button to choose your destination floor when inside the cab. When the motor stops, the wheel stops spinning and thus the cable also starts moving. When this happens the elevator cab stops and the door opens.

This explanation is very simplistic, but this is the basic technology behind the functioning of elevators. However, they consist of more complex systems and features that enhance user experience and efficiency of elevators.

Recent Developments in Elevator Technology

In the past few years, elevators have undergone many innovations to meet the growing demands of skyscrapers. As the construction industry has faced significant growth over last couple of years, the elevator manufacturers have also sped up the development process.  Many new innovations have taken place that have changed the way elevators work and how they can be maintained. From smart to green elevators, various major developments have been made.

Smart Elevators Just like smart televisions and smartphones, elevators have also become pretty smart. This means that they’ve become quite high-tech which improved safety systems and efficiency. Well, what is a smart elevator, exactly? When passengers push a button to select their destination floor, an indicator directs them to an assigned elevator that takes them to the floor they wish to go in the fastest way possible. This is because the assigned elevator does not stop at every floor but only at the floors it is instructed to stop at. This advanced routing moves passengers more quickly and efficiently, especially during high-traffic time in high-rise buildings, busy hotels, and offices. Their operating system can be adjusted according to different periods throughout the day. Similarly, internet-connection in elevators is another prominent advancement in the elevator technology. In case any problem starts developing in the elevator, this technology sends timely alerts to the managers so it can be fixed before any major damage occurs. It also saves time and money on repairs. Sensors are present in smart elevators that collect data related to factors that may impact wear and tear on elevator components. This gathered information is then sent to cloud-based platform where it is processed and analyzed, so that the building managers can predict when repair and maintenance will be required.

Green Elevators These elevators not only save energy, but also save processes, technologies, and materials that are used. You can save on flooring, interior paint, control panels, lighting, and HVAC systems. Main features of green elevators include:

• Gear-less Traction System
• Machine-room less technology
• Precise traffic control
• Destination dispatch control software
• Reduction in light-load trips through computerized systems
• Software and sensors in elevator cab that, when not in use, will go into sleep mode. This may include music, lighting, video, and ventilation.
• Drive systems that recover and also regenerate energy.