Elevator Power Supply
Elevator power supply is an important safety feature for all elevators to ensure the safety of passengers in a building during a utility power failure. Most city and state building codes require at least 90 minutes of full load backup power for each elevator in a building to comply with code.
Safety
A power supply for an Elevator is a critical safety device to have installed in your building as it can keep the elevator moving in the event of an electric power outage. It also allows for the safe evacuation of your building in the event of an emergency.
Most governing bodies in cities have strict safety regulations in place to ensure that the public are safe when using an elevator or lift. These regulations cover everything from how often a door should be closed to whether or not an elevator can be used for evacuation in an emergency situation.
For example, if an elevator is used as a firefighting lift, it must be fitted with a separate EN 50171 rated backup power supply independent of the mains. It should be able to provide enough power to operate the elevator safely for at least 90 minutes without having to be connected to mains.
If an Elevator is not equipped with a battery, it may have a dynamic braking system to prevent the car from overspeeding and causing damage. This type of system uses a tachometer to measure the speed of the drive motor and the governor rope as it travels up and down. If the difference between these two speeds exceeds a set limit, then the system would activate the brake and stop the elevator.
Another safety feature of an Elevator is a traction auxiliary power supply, which can be designed to work in conjunction with an Elevator control to lower the elevator and keep the doors open so that passengers can evacuate safely. This is a great way to protect your business and your employees from the dangers of overspeeding or having their car strike a fixed object, which can cause serious injury and costly equipment damage.
When the power supply is not working properly, the elevator can become a fire hazard and cause serious injuries to people inside the building. An Elevator power supply can be fitted with a safety relay which will detect when the mains power has been interrupted and will send the elevator into a safe mode. If the switch is tripped, then the elevator will be sent into a safe mode and the power will be turned off for at least 30 seconds before it can start again.
Efficiency
Elevators consume a significant amount of Elevator power supply power when they are in operation, which can add up quickly. For buildings that have elevators as part of the overall design, if circumstances align and the cost of the upgrades are reasonable, there may be some savings to be had from implementing energy-saving technologies.
Elevator traction motor systems, however, have historically been relatively inefficient, pulling much more power than necessary during the AC/DC conversion process and in standby mode. Many modern motor controllers use solid-state SCR (silicon controlled rectifier) circuitry, which greatly improves AC/DC conversion efficiency.
Another area where efficiencies can be achieved is with hoist motors. Premium-efficiency lifts often feature a regenerative drive, which uses less power than conventional drives and can regenerate a small amount of energy during travel.
A key component of the regenerative drive is a generator, which supplies power to hoist motors as needed. This eliminates overlapping current transients that occur when the hoist motors are starting and accelerating, which can lead to excess energy consumption from the power supply.
One way to prevent this problem is to stagger the dispatching of a plurality of elevators to ensure that each individual hoist motor draws only when it is actually required. This is especially important for elevators with multiple hoist motors, which typically have a dedicated power bus and power converter for each of the hoist motors.
The energy demand from hoist motors can also be minimized by implementing an elevator control system that automatically adjusts dispatching to reduce peak power demands. Using this technology, elevators can be scheduled to run when they are most efficient without negatively impacting the quality of service that is provided to passengers.
In addition to reducing electricity costs, improved efficiency features can also help keep elevator control circuitry cool, which may otherwise require machine room air conditioning. The problem is that in some cases, this can boost the system’s overall power usage by 40%.
Durability
Elevator power supply is a crucial part of your building’s safety and convenience systems. It is designed to provide an emergency source of power when the main electrical input goes down. It can be used in both residential and commercial buildings. It can store electricity in batteries and use it in times of emergencies.
When a power surge strikes, it can destroy your elevator. It can also affect the hardware and software that control your elevator’s motion, which may cause it to stop operating.
The SMPSs, controllers and other components that are used to run your elevators are equipped with circuit protection fuses and circuit breakers to deal with sudden voltage fluctuations. Though these devices are highly reliable, occasional issues may occur. These problems can disrupt the operation of your elevator and can be harmful to passengers.
Flickering power supplies are another problem that can be caused by frequent power surges. These problems are usually not visible, but they can still damage the hardware and electronics that are used in your elevators.
It can be difficult to diagnose these issues and to correct them. The best thing to do is to have a professional elevator engineer take a look at your elevator’s power supply and determine if there are any problems.
One way to do this is to test the power output of each component in your elevator. This will give you an idea of what kind of surges are occurring and how they might be affecting your elevator.
A common power surge can be as large as a million volts and can damage your elevator. It can also lead to a lot of confusion and troubleshooting.
You need a reliable, high-quality power source that is capable of providing continuous, three-phase power to your elevator. This is why many of the new elevators on the market are built with a SineTamer(r) as their power supply.
SineTamer(r) has been installed on elevators around the world and Elevator power supply has not experienced any problems related to power surges. In fact, in Central America where one building suffered a power surge, SineTamer(r) saved the building’s other elevators and related equipment.
Reliability
Reliability is essential to ensuring elevator operation and passenger safety. A reliable elevator system can cut maintenance costs, reduce building operating expenses and improve end user satisfaction.
Elevators often use batteries to ensure backup power in case of an emergency. In the event of a power failure, these batteries supply emergency power to all components in the elevator, including intercom, alarm bell, lighting bulbs and fans inside the cab, to ensure that passengers are kept safe.
Typically, the battery is installed in an enclosure with the power distribution module and connected directly to the main supply circuit. The elevator’s control unit can then detect the failure of the main supply and switch to the battery, which lasts for 15 to 20 milliseconds before it automatically switches back to the primary source.
An elevator’s power supply may also be designed to selectively provide power to a particular drive or component of the elevator. This could include a motor 106 or a door 109.
In some cases, the power supply can be designed to disconnect a specific component or drive from the grid in an emergency or rescue situation. This can allow first responders to take control of the power supply and disable the elevator so they can get to the occupants more quickly.
Some elevator systems use multiple circuits to deliver power to the drive, which can help avoid problems that occur when a single circuit fails or is overloaded. Additionally, an elevator’s power supply can be configured to isolate the electrical system from other equipment in a building, which can help minimize the number of interruptions or downtimes caused by the traction motors.
Many modernized elevators have a ground wire on the circuit board to provide a ground to the DC traction motors in the hoistway. However, in some cases, a new ground wire can cause misoperations, because the wiring traces can be faulty.
Reliability can be improved through knowledge and expertise plus constant vigilance, but the smallest mistake or distraction can have significant consequences. This is particularly true when performing circuit-board work.