3 ms·

The ropes provide energy efficiency. On one end is the lift car, but on the other and going in the opposite direction is a counterweight of similar mass. The

The ropes provide energy efficiency. On one end is the lift car, but on the other and going in the opposite direction is a counterweight of similar mass. The lift motor only needs to move the difference in mass. If you put the motor in the car without ropes then it has to be powerful enough to lift the whole car and all occupants. And if you want any hope of energy efficiency you'd need regenerative braking for when going down. This would make the lift car a lot heavier and the electrical system a lot more complicated. Sometimes simpler is better!

Someone 13y ago
Yes, but in either case, energy is lost in accelerating and decelerating mass. If your cable is a mile long, accelerating and decelerating it costs quite some energy, too. Long cable also have problems with swaying and elasticity. Also, a main problem with high rise buildings is loss of floor space at lower heights (the water, electricity, waste, and person traffic of floors 2 to N all have to pass though floor 1) Ropeless elevators can have a huge advantage there, as they allow one to hang multiple elevators in a single shaft that both service the full range of floors. Yes, that requires sophisticated software to prevent lift cars from having to pass through each other too often (some designs allow cabines to do that by making it possible for the cars to move horizontally, too), but it is an active research area. "ropeless elevator" is not on Wikipedia yet; the best (but tangential and possibly slightly commercial) I could find Googling it is http://www.barkermohandas.com/images/Integrated%20Vertical%20&%20Horizontal%20Transport.pdf http://www.barkermohandas.com/images/Integrated%20Vertical%2..., which is about a system with wires that allows one to move cars horizontally by sliding them from one car frame to another using linear motors.
- versk 13y ago
  Not everything is a software problem, I think you are hugely underestimating how much more power is required for an elevator to self propel vertically upwards compared to a counterweight system. I'm not an expert but I'd have to guess its at least 10x if not potentially much more

Someone 13y ago

Yes, but in either case, energy is lost in accelerating and decelerating mass. If your cable is a mile long, accelerating and decelerating it costs quite some energy, too. Long cable also have problems with swaying and elasticity. Also, a main problem with high rise buildings is loss of floor space at lower heights (the water, electricity, waste, and person traffic of floors 2 to N all have to pass though floor 1) Ropeless elevators can have a huge advantage there, as they allow one to hang multiple elevators in a single shaft that both service the full range of floors. Yes, that requires sophisticated software to prevent lift cars from having to pass through each other too often (some designs allow cabines to do that by making it possible for the cars to move horizontally, too), but it is an active research area. "ropeless elevator" is not on Wikipedia yet; the best (but tangential and possibly slightly commercial) I could find Googling it is http://www.barkermohandas.com/images/Integrated%20Vertical%20&%20Horizontal%20Transport.pdf http://www.barkermohandas.com/images/Integrated%20Vertical%2..., which is about a system with wires that allows one to move cars horizontally by sliding them from one car frame to another using linear motors.

versk 13y ago
Not everything is a software problem, I think you are hugely underestimating how much more power is required for an elevator to self propel vertically upwards compared to a counterweight system. I'm not an expert but I'd have to guess its at least 10x if not potentially much more