Elevator energy storage equipment

What is lift energy storage system (lest)?

Called Lift Energy Storage System (LEST), the system that the team describes in the journal Energy, involves moving containers of wet sand to the top of a building during elevator downtime, such as at night. Remotely operated autonomous trailers could be used to load and unload the containers, Hunt and colleagues propose.

Can elevators save energy?

The idea is to lift heavy loads up using elevators to store renewable electricity as potential energy, and then lower them to discharge that energy into the grid when needed.

How much energy do elevators use?

During peak hours, elevators may constitute up to 40% of the building's electricity demand. In New York City, the estimated daily energy consumption of elevators is 1945 MWh on weekdays, with a peak demand of 138.8 MW, and 1575 MWh during a weekend, with a peak demand of 106.0 MW.

Can lifts be used as energy storage devices?

There are several ghost towns where the lifts could be used as energy storage devices through Lift Energy Storage Technology (LEST). A review of ghost cities in China can be seen in Ref. . In some cases, the investors do not rent empty apartments because they want to be flexible to sell the flat any time they get a good price.

What is the proposed arrangement for the lift energy storage system?

An example of the proposed arrangement is presented in Table 1. Energy is stored as potential energy by elevating storage containers with an existing lift in the building from the lower storage site to the upper storage site. Electricity is then generated by lowering the storage containers from the upper to the lower storage site.

Could lift energy storage technology be a viable alternative to long-term energy storage?

Conclusion Lift Energy Storage Technology (LEST) could be a viable alternative to long-term energy storage in high-rise buildings. LEST could be designed to store energy for long-term time scales (a week) to generate a small but constant amount of energy for a long time.