Hey everyone! I'm curious about the possibility of running my building's elevator on solar power during a power outage. Is it feasible for solar panels and batteries to automatically switch over to power the elevator when the electricity goes out? How do they handle the sudden load from the elevator? Would it work just for emergency scenarios, like bringing it down to the nearest floor? Has anyone tried this in real life, or can provide insights?
3 Answers
Definitely! You could run your whole building on solar power during outages, but the size of the solar setup and battery bank depends on your elevator’s power needs. If the elevator circuit is part of a critical load panel managed by a hybrid inverter, you could have enough battery capacity to get the elevator safely down. Just remember, during a long outage, the elevator might still get stuck, so you'd need controls that switch it into a safe mode.
Yeah, it really comes down to how much power your elevator actually consumes. If you can figure that out, you might be able to set up a solar system that works during outages. Just a heads up, it could get pricey to install everything. But if you're serious about it, why not explore the possibility?
The challenge with elevators is that they require a lot of power at startup. For instance, your elevator might need to draw around 96 amps at 208V, but when the motor fires up, it could spike to about 580 amps due to inrush current! So, if you want to use solar, you’d need a robust inverter capable of handling those surges, like a 30 kW one. Also, keep in mind that some elevators are crucial for safety, so they might need regulated emergency power systems.