Energy saving with "Blue Modus“

"Blue Modus": An effective option for operators of lifts, to pay a relevant contribution to the compliance of the European climate protection.

Energy efficiency since the UN-climate-report 2007 respective the Kyoto-protocoll stands on top of the agenda and is for a long time a subject in the field of lift construction. Lifts use about 5% of the energy e.g. in an office building and move so into the focus of energy-saving measures.

Several regulations of the EU pick up the subject “energy” also regarding building services engineering facilities e.g. for heating and illumination, heat insulation etc. (Energy Performance of Buildings EPB, EC-Directive 2002/91/EC). The so called Eko-design-directive (EuP Energy Using Products, EC-Directive 2005/92EC) considers also motors with the focus to the energy consumption. Even if at time the latest policy for energy-saving do not mention explicit the lifts, it is recommendable to deal with this subject and to plan the integration of energy-saving systems for new Projects. Many European committees at the time being are defining regulations for technical systems with the goal to reduce the energy consumption and the pollution of environment with harmful substances during production, operating, and disposal. Relevant for lifts becomes e.g. the regulation VDI 4707 which is at time in “green-print” and gets defined for the “Energy-saving-label” for lift, similar to the known ones for refrigerators and washing machines.

A study in Switzerland achieved interesting results from measurements on 30 lifts of various technical systems. Modern lift-systems showed a certain deduction at the drive-consumption but also a big growth at the stand-by-consumption. This discovers an interesting starting point for possible energy savings.

For sure in future a need- and consumption-oriented facility-energy-pass becomes an increasing consideration for investments in building services engineering. This applies for first installations as well as for modernisation.

The lift industry is very well prepared for this challenge and offers different features and products to increase the energy efficiency. So one can optimize the energy consumption by choosing sufficient components (e.g. stand-by with LED cabin light) as well as by controlling of certain features (minimizing the stand-by consumption).

„Blue Modus“ for the Lift industry

The company Böhnke + Partner GmbH Steuerungssysteme in Bergisch Gladbach is located in the centre of Germany and so in the heart of Europe. The enterprise develops, designs, and manufactures components, controllers, and remote diagnosis systems as well as software (WinMOS^®300, CANwizard^®) for the lift industry.

The product design follows in line with market requirements and is rigorously oriented to the customer’s desire. At this the clients profiteer from the huge application experiences from numbers of projects where this controller systems and components are employed. High qualified developing engineers and experienced designers are working very close together with the production and so sophisticated standard products are guaranteed, which are successful and reliable in use in all fields of the hoisting engineering.

The service before and after sales is important for the confidential relation to the clients and of highest priority. The enterprise is sensible about being responsible regarding its clients and always keen on developing innovating technique.

Böhnke + Partner looks to the need of energy saving in all fields of building services engineering including lift building as a new challenge. With the start of planning a usefully contribution for energy saving can be effected with sufficient concepts and by innovative design and software. With the logo “Blue Modus” a number of features and components are compiled, which are for many years already part of the products from Böhnke + Partner. In times where the responsible dealing with the natural recourses gets a high relevance we want to give our customers a simple measure on hand to ask specific for recourse saving products. The “Blue Modus” features grant an efficient use of controllers and components and achieve an obvious decline of energy consumption, e.g. in stand-by operation. With that the “Blue Modus” enables an enhanced contingent of energy saving and environment protection.

This begins with such simple things like switching off the cabin light in rest, continues over an automatic step by step switching off of not current needed energy-user in stand-by operation up to the very complex controller algorithms for energy-efficient group-operation of lifts. Many features of “Blue Modus” are of a consequently further development of the software inside the components of the lift with the specific view on energy saving, and can get realised without separate hardware. With that, by no means, the comfort of the lift would be impaired.

The goals of the Eco-Design Directive of the European Union are substance of the company’s decision at Böhnke + Partner. “Blue Modus” is the consequently further development of an environment-sympathetic product policy which started already years ago with the cost-free withdrawal and professional disposal of electronic equipment and continued with the early implementation of a RoHS-conforming production, far before inception of this RoHS-regulation (Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment). The graded optimizing of the cumulative energy consumption by means of new manufacturing processes, machines, and final products displays that the goals of the EuP-directive (Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a framework for the Energy-Using Products) are a continuous vital perspective of all activities in research and engineering at Böhnke + Partner.

“Blue Modus” is our offer to the owners of lifts to deliver a contribution to comply with the European program of climate protection.

Hans-Walter Böhnke
BÖHNKE + PARTNER GmbH
STEUERUNGSSYSTEME