Selection of elevator specifications in any building involves considering factors like building height, number of floors, expected traffic, and type of building (residential, commercial, or industrial). Key specifications include load capacity, speed, door dimensions, and safety features. Additionally, energy efficiency, control systems, and compliance with local regulations are crucial for ensuring optimal performance and user safety.
The elevator should be properly planned according to the above-mentioned factors. Proper vertical transportation design begins with the assessment of building conditions. This ensures that the proper equipment type, capacity, speed, elevator grouping, arrangement, zoning, location, and number of elevators are installed in a building.
The criteria used to evaluate the vertical transportation systems are developed according to the building type, its occupancy, and usage.
The factors determining proper vertical transportation design include:
- Handling Capacity: Handling Capacity is the number of people a car can transport in 5 minutes.
- Handling Efficiency: Handling efficiency is the ratio of persons transported in 5 minutes to the total population of the Elevator bank.
- Average interval time: Average interval is the length of time from the departure of a car from the departure floor to the arrival of the next car on the same floor.
Below mentioned values of 5-minute handling capacity and the average interval are recommended for different buildings’ usages.
| Building Use | 5 min handling Efficiency (%) | Average Interval (sec) |
|---|---|---|
| Office (Diversified type) | 11 to 15% | Not more than 40 sec |
| Residential | 3.5 to 7% | 1 car: 120 sec or less 2 cars: 90 sec or less |
| Hotel | 8 to 10% | Not more than 30 sec |
Generally, in office buildings, traffic peaks occur at the office – starting hour, lunchtime, and office closing hours. However, the maximum peak hours start at the office starting hour. Therefore, the morning up peak should be considered for traffic study. The elevator facilities should have sufficient carrying efficiency for the maximum traffic demand. i.e. Up peak, down peak, lunchtime service, etc.
Accordingly, the average interval time should be no more than the recommended limit.
However, if the number of elevators in a group is as small as 1 or 2 elevators in a group, then it is unavoidable to increase the average interval time from the recommended limits.
Round trip time (RTT) is the main factor in the calculation of 5-minute handling capacity. Round trip time is the sum of Elevator running time + door opening and closing time + Transfer time + Loss time.
Different Elevator Companies are using different tools and software programs for elevator traffic analysis. However, the parameters and design criteria are almost the same for the selection of optimum elevators according to the traffic demand in a building.
I hope this article sheds light on the basic concept of how to design a Vertical Transportation System in any building. If you have any questions or queries, or if you need to understand further details, don’t forget to drop your questions in the comments section below.
