A methodology for energy analysis of escalators

• Published in: Energy and buildings 2013-06, Vol.61, p.21-30
• Main Authors: Carrillo, C., Díaz-Dorado, E., Cidrás, J., Silva-Ucha, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Building mechanical equipments (elevators, goods lifts, escalators); Building technical equipments; Buildings; Buildings. Public works; Computation methods. Tables. Charts; Control systems; Design engineering; Electrical measurement; Energy conservation; Energy efficiency; Energy management and energy conservation in building; Energy use; Environmental engineering; Escalator; Escalators; Estimates; Exact sciences and technology; Non-linear diffusion filtering; Structural analysis. Stresses; Transportation
• ISSN: 0378-7788
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.01.038

► Energy behaviour of escalators related to traffic is analyzed. ► An approach using only electrical measurements is proposed. ► The energy savings in escalators with a two-speed control has been estimated. ► The behaviour of real escalators has been analyzed using the proposed approach. Escalators are a common method of transportation for people in commercial and residential buildings, for this reason its energy efficiency is usually a matter of concern. Typically, the design of energy saving systems to be used in them involves the control of their speed. In this situation, in order to estimate the achievable energy savings it is necessary to evaluate the escalator's behaviour in terms of traffic (e.g. people per hour, loaded and unloaded periods of time, etc.). In this paper, a method to analyze this behaviour using only electrical measurements is proposed. As a result from the proposed approach, the energy saving obtained using the common two-speed control is also analyzed using data from real escalators.