Energy Storage and Recovery System for Lift

Sebastiano Acquaviva
Encosys srl, Italy

Key Words: Energy, energy saving, storage, recovery, regeneration, power

reduction

ABSTRACT

The elevator, from the grid side, is an impulsive load. Most of the energy
used is lost during braking and/or deceleration phases. There are different
ways to recover the loosen energy, but only one way is really convenient in
terms of cost and efficiency: store and recovery the energy. An energy
storage system requires having an accumulator that performs in an optimal
way: high efficiency, bidirectional, long life, quick response time. The
advantages of using an energy storage system for such application are:
lower engaged power, higher efficiency due to recovery of breaking energy
and energy continuity during blackout to finish the race.

1. INTRODUCTION

The lift, from the energy point of view, is an electrical to mechanical energy
transformer and vice versa. The transformation takes place through the intermediate
stages of acceleration, travel, deceleration and braking. All of these steps involve:

 Energy losses in the form of heat due to self-consumption by the various parties
involved in the movement. Improving the performance of each component can
decrease the energy absorbed from the grid. This energy contribution is only
dissipative and does not allow any energy recovery but only a reduction due to a
functional optimization.

 The electric to kinetic energy transfer necessary for the movement. This energy is
a conservative type then regenerative. The value increases during the acceleration
phase, is constant during the travel and decreases during the deceleration down to
zero when it stops.

 The electrical to potential energy transfer. Also this energy is of the conservative
type and therefore regenerative. The potential energy is transferred to the lift when
the weight goes up, at the highest floor reaches the maximum value, while it is
being transferred out from the elevator as it descends to reach the minimum value
when the weight is at the lowest level.

 Electric power from the grid strongly intermittent with high amplitudes and short
duration. The average power required for the lift operation is much lower.

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In the following paragraphs an energy recovery and storage system combined with
the lift system is described. It allows recovering of the breaking energy that is
normally lost into heat, it can reduce the electric power from the grid to the average
value and help to improve the overall system efficiency.

2. ENERGETIC ANALYSYS

With reference to Figure 1, m1 is the mass of the car, m2 is

the mass of the counterweight, W1 and W2 the
F corresponding weight forces, R the pull of the rope and F
F the force applied for the movement, the balance of forces
at the car level is the following:

Forces on m1 (1)
R
Forces on m2 (2)
m2
R This yields the equation of the motion:

W2 (3)

m1 where a is the acceleration of the car and v is speed. The

above equation shows that the accelerations, or speed
W1 change, depends on the weight difference between the car
Figure 1. and the counterweight. It shows also that a depends on the
sum of the mass involved in the movement.
From the energy point of view we can write:
Steady State Dynamics
Power Power

Power (4)

Kinetic energy (conservative) (5)

Potential energy (conservative) (6)

Where h1 and h2 are the start and the stop level of the car.

To the above equations, in the energy balance, all the powers necessary to make the
movement possible, i.e. friction and internal losses of each component involved in
the movement itself should be added. Each of these quantities can be reduced by
optimizing design of each component, improving the individual and the overall
performance.

Nevertheless, the improvement that would result could not involve forms of
recoverable energy. In fact, the recoverable energy is only of conservative nature.

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Follows an analysis of each energy equation:

a) Power

The power is given by two addenda:

 The steady state power, which depends on the weight difference between the
car and the counterweight and the speed, is the power required to charge the
potential energy. It's the only reason that justifies the counterweight presence
and explains why the elevator without counterweigh needs more power for its
own movement.
 The dynamic power, which depends on the sum of the masses of the cab and
the counterweight and the speed, is the power required to charge the kinetic
energy. Therefore the lift with counterweight requires more energy for the
acceleration and deceleration.

b) Kinetic energy

The kinetic energy is a conservative energy and therefore recoverable. The

elevator with counterweight requires more energy for the acceleration, and, if not
recovered, part of it is converted into potential energy and part is usually
dissipated into heat during the deceleration phases. Kinetic Energy assumes
values that are relevant for high-speed lifts, and even more for plants where each
race is interrupted by multiple intermediate stops. For elevators without
counterweight this energy contribution is much smaller (less than half).

c) Potential energy

The potential energy is a conservative energy and therefore recoverable. Without

counterweight the energy required to lift the load is higher. If the energy is not
recovered the potential energy is usually dissipated into heat during the breaking
phases.

The importance of energy recovering can be shown comparing different plant

configurations and the amounts of energy involved in the system operation. Table 1
shows the comparison between different plants, electric and hydraulic elevators, i.e.
with and without counterweight, showing the amount of recoverable energy. It is clear
from Table 1 how recoverable energy is more relevant with high speed elevators and
with multiple stops per travel, and also it seems that there is no convenience to
recover energy for plants without counterweight. Further in the article it is described
that there are other advantages for the elevator without counterweight which makes
the recovery system even more attractive than for the one with counterweight.

Table 1 gives a clear view of how the amount of energy that can be recovered can be
very significant. If not recovered all that energy is lost into heat, which will require
also other energy consumptions to cool the room.

Stated that a recovery system is desirable for such application, the question now is:
what can be done with recovered energy? There are two possibilities: recover back
to the grid or store it.

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To recover the energy back to the grid a reversible inverter is necessary. There are
different products on the market that can perform this. The cost of such inverter is
almost double compared to a standard one. The energy given back is impulsive and
of no convenience to the grid supplier, in most countries they would not even accept
to receive back such impulsive energy and if they do it would not be paid. Also, the
power required for the operation cannot be reduced to the average value, and in
some countries the cost of the electric bill depends strongly on the power rate.

The best way to recover energy is to store it into an accumulator which makes
energy available for the future operations. The important question is: which type of
accumulator is suitable for the correct operation?

Table 1. Energy Comparison Between Different Types of Plants

Low Medium High Standard High eff.

Item Unit
speed speed speed Hydraulic Hydraulic
Motor power kW 3 7 17 12 13
Plant efficiency % 85% 50% 75%
Load kg 480
Car weight kg 500
Counterweight kg 740 0
Speed m/s 1 2,5 6 0,6 1
Travel m 24 48 75 24 24
Number of stops 8 16 25 8 8
Maximum travel time s 25 20 14 41 25
Acceleration energy kJ 10 62 357 3 6
Upward required energy kJ 69 140 224 473 320
Deceleration recoverable energy kJ 7 45 258 1 4
Downward recoverable energy kJ 50 101 162 118 180
Multiple stops in one travel kJ 3 5 8 0 0
Upward energy without recovery kJ 84 357 2654 473 320
Upward energy with recovery kJ 78 226 1018 473 320
Upward Energy Recovered in % % 8% 37% 62% 0% 0%
Total Energy with Recovery kJ 27 125 855 355 140
Recovered Energy % 67% 65% 68% 25% 56%
Saved Energy on 50000 cycles kWh 787 3224 24981 1642 2504

3. THE ACCUMULATOR

The accumulator suitable for lift applications does not need to be energy intensive
but it should be power intensive. This means that it does not require to store very
high energy quantity but to have enough energy to supply few travel and to be able to
transfer high power in short time in both directions. The storage system must have
the following main characteristics:

 High efficiency: recover as much energy as possible from the storage. The
energy lost must be minimized otherwise the recovery convenience is vanished.
 The storage and the regeneration must be fast and quick. The timing shall be
compatible with the elevator travels speed profile.
 Long service life. The expected time should be higher than 10 years.

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 Low purchase price. The accumulator system, including the control unit, should
be paid back in few years from the energy saving.
 Low maintenance cost.
 Reversible. The energy, or the power, should be able to go in both directions.

In Table 2 a comparison between different types of accumulators is shown. The

battery taken into account is standard lead acid type. There are much better batteries
on the market which have higher efficiency but also higher cost and anyway are not
suitable for the impulsive power of an elevator and the reversibility is not so good.
Other accumulators considered are: fuel cells, electrolytic capacitors,
supercapacitors, superconductors and flywheel. About flywheel, the low speed types
with mechanical bearings are here considered.

Table 2. Accumulators Comparison

Item Battery Fuel cells Capacitors Supercap. Smes Flywheel

Cost €/kW 75 1500 600-1000 700-1000 50-100
Efficiency % 50-60 40-55 95 90 95 95
Reversibility no no Good Optimum Good Optimum
Maintenance costs High Low Low Medium Very low
N° cycle 2000 >10^5 >10^6 >10^6 >10^6
Life years 3-5 7-8 >10
Time to hold a charge years days days days >2h

The table shows that the flywheel is the best

solution except for the time to hold the charge,
which is few hours. This means that the flywheel
needs to be supplied from the grid. The average
power consumption of the flywheel tested is about
50 W.

The life of the flywheel is only limited by the

bearings which should likely be changed after 7 to
10 years of operation at very low maintenance cost.

The best choice is the flywheel. The developed

solution (Figure 2) has the following characteristics:

 Nominal energy 600 kJ

 Nominal power 15 kW Figure 2. The Accumulator
 Nominal speed 12000 rpm
 Efficiency > 93 %

4. THE SEM (Storage Energy Management) SYSTEM

The energy exchange between the elevator and the accumulator must be through a
suitable electronic control unit. It is necessary for the system connection to be
asynchronous and that ensures the functionality of the two devices allowing the
proper energy exchange. This connection can be made through a DC Bus.
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In this way the electrical machines of the elevator, fed through an inverter (INVM),
can exchange the energy with the DC Bus. Similarly, the flywheel accumulator
(ACC), which is also fed through an inverter (REGA), exchanges energy with the DC
Bus. The energy exchange, within the limits of energy stored in the flywheel, can take
place without energy request from the grid. However, the average energy required to
operate the whole system needs to be taken from the grid, which will power the DC
Bus. If a universal power interface to the power grid is required, then the voltage of
the DC Bus must be set at a value greater than the maximum voltage of the grid. It
will then be necessary to provide the interface to the grid with a step-up that
stabilizes the DC Bus voltage to the desired value. It may be required also that the
interface controls the unitary power factor (PFC). The configuration of the final
accumulation and regeneration system is shown in Figure 3.

DC Bus
PFC INVM

REGA

ACC

Figure 3. The SEM block diagram

To control multiple elevators at the same time, each lift, using its own inverter, must
be connected to the DC Bus link. Figure 4 shows the complete control unit according
to the diagram of Figure 3 for a single 15 kW plant.

Figure 4. Control Unit

Defining UP the phase in which the load is carried from the lower floor to the upper
floor, Ps the required power and Es the required energy after tc time, while DOWN
when the load is carried from the upper floor to downstairs, Pd the generated power
and Ec the final energy, while Pc is the power absorbed from the grid, the exchange
energy can then be represented as in Figure 5.

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During the UP phase, the elevator absorbs energy both from the grid and the
accumulator, while during the DOWN phase the elevator provides energy to the
flywheel that can also absorb energy from the grid to recharge. Figure 6 shows the
energy flow during the various operational phases. As it is shown in Figure 7, the
power absorbed by the grid is much less than the power required to move the lift and
is no longer strongly impulsive. In addition, the figure shows the energy savings that
can be obtained after several operation cycles.

Figure 5. Energy and Power exchange

CHARGE UP RECHARGE DOWN RECHARGE

diagram

Figure 6. SEM Energy Flow during the various operational phases

Es Energy
Ec Saving
Ps

Power
Pc Reduction

Pd

Figure 7. Power Reduction and Energy Save

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5. SYSTEM EFFICIENCY

From the efficiency point of view the system can be schematized as in Figure 8. It is
divided into three functional blocks.

Pc ηp ηe Pe

GRID INVM LIFT

ηv REGA

SEM Pv ACC
g
u
Figure 8. SEM Efficiency block diagram
r
The PFC block overall performances are denoted
e by ηp. The power absorbed by the
grid is denoted by Pc. 1.
The block REGA represents the energy storage system and is indicated by ηv and
the exchanged power is denoted by Pv.

The block INVM represents lift with the inverter and the overall performances are
indicated by ηe. The lift mechanical power is indicated with Pe.

There are three phases for the energy flow, UP, RECHARGE and DOWN. During the
UP phase the grid supplies the power Pc, the accumulator provides the power Pvs
and the elevator receives the power Pe. Follows the CHARGE or RECHARGE phase
when the elevator is stopped and the accumulator is charged with the power Pvc
which comes only from the grid through the PFC power (Pc). During the charging
phase regeneration of power due to the lift decelerating can occur. If this happens,
during this phase the accumulator is recharged with the power Pvr , sum of the
regenerated power from the elevator Pe and the power absorbed by the grid Pc.

For the various phases described above the following equations can be written:

UP: (7)
CHARGE: (8)
DOWN: (9)

where i is the regeneration coefficient, which is zero for a non-regenerative plants

while is up to 1 for regenerative plants. It is assumed that the power absorption from
the grid Pc is the same in all the three phases.

For the energy, assuming that the timing for the UP and the DOWN phases in one
cycle are equal to tc, the stop time between each travel is ta, the equations are:

(10)
(11)
(12)

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from which

(13)

The total efficiency is then given by:

(14)

Hence, replacing the previous equations, after several steps we get:

(15)

were:

ηp: is the efficiency of the PFC module, whose value is of the order of 0.93 to 0.95.

ηv: is the performance of the storage system. It is due to the efficiency of the inverter
ηvi, in the order of 0.93 to 0.97, and the efficiency of the accumulator ηvt, in the
order of 0.87 to 0.95. Then ηv = ηvi ηvt.

ηe: this parameter is more difficult to define because it includes various parts of the
plant. It is composed of the lift inverter ηei (internally to the SEM, in the range
0.93 to 0.97) and the lift itself ηec. Supplying the lift electric motor by an inverter
its efficiency can be improved if it is opportunely controlled. Said km (value>1) the
contribution of the best performance due to the inverter, it is possible to write:
. Also .

i: is the coefficient of the regeneration. The value is of the order of 0.5-1, depends
on the plant reversibility. It is 0 for non-regenerative plant. Also .

Pc: is the power absorbed from the grid, which can be limited to a desired value to
which the SEM will not overcome (programmable setting value).

Pe: is the mechanical power of the lift considering all the moving weights (cabin,
counterweight, ropes, pulleys, etc..).

Without the SEM the total efficiency is given by ηt = ηec.

The total efficiency ηt can be expressed as:

(16)

Where sem is the efficiency contribution due to the presence of the SEM:

(17)

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The SEM improves the whole efficiency only if sem> 1. The meaning sem> 1 is not
so obvious. This does not means that the SEM has efficiency higher than 1 but that
in the plant, attributing the recovered energy to the SEM, its presence makes the
efficiency contribution higher than 1. This can be reached easily for regenerative
( i≠0) and high efficiency plants. For non-regenerative plants, like old hydraulic
plants, the advantage of using the SEM is mainly due to the drastically reduction of
the engaged power, which in some countries gives a high reduction of the electric
cost. Also, considering that the elevator normally makes about of 50% of empty
travels, in which the efficiency of the motor can be improved through the inverter, a
big advantage can be taken through the parameter km (km can be improved also
using an high efficient motor and reducing the pressure drop on the valve block).

6. CONCLUSIONS

In the present article a recovery and energy storage system has been presented. It
has been shown that the recovered energy can be significant, and that, for high
speed installations, a drastic reduction of the energy consumption is possible. It is
also shown that the instantaneous power absorbed by the grid can be reduced
drastically to the cycle average value. With a consequent reduction of the strongly
intermittent absorption from the grid and
50 the considerable reduction of electrical costs
related to the high installed power, especially in those countries where the cost of
electricity also depends on the power rate. In particular, with reference to Figure 9,
considering plants having an overall efficiency of 50% of the lift (typically hydraulic),
the power that can be installed with respect to the elevator nominal power is in the
ratio indicated in the graph as a function of the number of travels per hour and the
race time, both for systems with and without regeneration.

The accumulation system realized, called SEM (Storage Energy Management), is

constituted by a high efficiency flywheel accumulator. This solution offers an
excellent price performance ratio.

Pc/Pn % tc
20 s Non Regenerative
15 s 15 s
10 s 10 s

tc
20 s
15 s
10 s
Regenerative nc/h
15 s
0
20 40 60 80 100 10 s 140
120 160 180

Figure 9. Power Ratio (Pc/Pn) vs Number of Travel per Hours (nc/h)

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The SEM accepts any voltage and frequency from the grid, either with single or three
phase supply, supplying anyways the elevator with three phase power.

The presence of the PFC allows to keep power factor always unitary. It is then
suitable to be installed easily on any plant, both new and existing, electric and
hydraulic type, without any change in the panel control or in the plant or to the
electric motor. No special knowledge is required for the installer and any technician
can install it quickly and easily. Thanks to the accumulated energy, in the event of an
energy blackout, the SEM gives the continuity of operation to complete the race
without any speed variation. The internal inverter allows to have a comfortable travel
and a precise stop to the floor for any load.

The advantage of using SEM with electric elevators is that it can reduce the energy
consumption, specially for medium to high speed elevator, can reduce the required
power and can give continuity of operation in case of energy blackout.

For hydraulic elevator the biggest advantage is to reduce the power to the average
value making the power rate comparable to the electric elevator. It makes the
hydraulic elevator work as if it has the counterweight (Electric counterweight). Also, if
the power unit of the elevator is provided by a regenerative valve block, the
descending energy can be stored and reused during the UP race. The valve block
can be made easily regenerative allowing the oil to flow back through the pump
instead of going directly in the tank. In this way the rotation would be reversed and
the electric motor of the pump would work as generator and recharge the storage. If
an external high efficient motor, PM Brushless, is used instead of the low efficiency
submersible induction motor, than the recovered energy can be very significant. In
any case, the use of the SEM, for the hydraulic elevator allows to reduce drastically
the gap with the electric elevator in terms of power and consumption, making the
trade off comparable between the two technologies. This allows for instance to bring
the rated power of an hydraulic elevator from 15 kW or even 25 kW down to 3 kW
single phase, which is comparable to an electric elevator without SEM, or even
better.

The advantage of using SEM with both elevators topologies is not only in terms of
energy and/or power, but mainly economics. The energy saving and the power
reduction can halve the electric bill, which will allow to pay back the SEM investment
in very short time.

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