GIVEN the global focus on energy efficiency, Otis Elevator Company has put forward an energy-efficient solution that is claimed to reduce overall elevator energy usage by up to 75 per cent.

The solution combines its environment-friendly Gen2 elevator system with the energy-conserving ReGen drives to offer this massive energy saving compared to geared machines with non-regenerative drives.
The Gen2 elevator system has been setting the standard for elevator performance, design flexibility, and comfort for a wide range of building applications from low-rise residential to high-rise projects since its introduction in 2000.
“When combined with ReGen drives, the product of choice for green building initiatives, the system becomes even more energy-efficient, reducing energy consumption by up to 75 per cent compared to conventional systems with non-regenerative drives.”
“In a typical non-regenerative drive, energy is dissipated as heat in a set of resistors when braking occurs, resulting in reduced efficiency and creating additional waste-heat loads in the building. The regenerative drive feeds this energy back into the building’s internal electrical utility where it can be used by other loads or users connected to the same network such as lighting. They lower overall building operating costs, delivering significant annual savings to building owners and tenants year after year over the life of the elevator,” she explains.
Also, electrical power is generated when the elevator travels up with a light load, travels down with a heavy load and during the elevator system’s deceleration. In effect, a fully loaded, descending elevator can now provide a significant portion of the power for an adjacent ascending elevator.
The amount of energy savings due to regeneration depends on various system parameters and configurations such as duty load, speed, length of run, traffic pattern and system efficiency.
“Modelling and simulation results show that Otis regenerative drives use less energy than non-regenerative drives for equivalent elevator motion – that is, the energy consumed by the propulsion system to move the loads. As a ‘green’ cost-effective option for the Gen2 system, Otis regenerative drives are the smart choice for low or mid-rise installation,” she says.
The Gen2 elevator system requires no separate machine room and uses an energy-efficient gearless machine.
“When launched in 2000, the Gen2 elevator system – an innovation developed and patented by Otis – radically changed the elevator industry by replacing the conventional traction steel rope with a flexible polyurethane-coated steel belt, which is patented,” says the spokeswoman.
Gen2 features a compact, highly-efficient gearless machine with its permanent-magnet synchronous motor that reduces power consumption by as much as 50 per cent compared to conventional geared machines.
In addition, the Gen2 system does not require any additional polluting lubrication, eliminating the need for storage, clean-up and disposal of hazardous waste, she adds.
The company has supplied and installed 90 escalators and 48 Gen2 elevators for a 1.6 million-sq-ft mall project in Al Ardiya and 42 Gen2 elevators for 21 apartment buildings owned by the Ministry of Awkaf in Kuwait City; as well as 70 Gen2 elevators and eight escalators in a major residential development on Dubai’s landmark Palm Jumeirah Island.
Otis Elevator Company is considered to be the world’s largest manufacturer and maintainer of elevators, escalators and moving walkways. It offers products and services in more than 200 countries and territories and maintains 1.7 million elevators and escalators worldwide.
The company is represented directly in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Yemen, Otis operates through agents managed by Otis’ Arabian Gulf branch in Kuwait.
Besides product innovations, Otis offers a variety of sophisticated maintenance programmes and building support systems to fit customer needs and suit equipment types of the region. For instance, REM (remote elevator monitoring) is a hi-tech interconnected system of sensors, monitors, circuits, hardware and software to collect, record, analyse and communicate data about elevator operations 24/7. When the REM system detects a problem, it analyses and diagnoses the cause and location, then makes the service call and helps an Otis mechanic identify the component causing the problem. As a result, it optimises elevator performance and minimises elevator downtime.
The Otisline is a 24/7 service centre that customers can contact in case of a problem.
Some of the key projects in the Middle East where Otis equipment is currently operational are the Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest tower, where it has supplied and installed 66 elevators and escalators – Yas Island, Mall of the Emirates, Mirdiff City Centre, and Dalma Mall – all in the UAE; Liberation Tower, Kuwait Finance House, Amiri Diwan projects in Kuwait; and Bahrain City Centre and Bahrain World Trade Centre.
Headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut and employing 61,000 people, Otis has more than 150 years of experience in its field and is part of the well-diversified United Technologies Corp, which provides high-technology products and services to the building and aerospace industries.