With the ambition to reduce the power consumption of elevators by up to 50%, Skeleton Technologies, in a partnership with Epic Power, launched the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). Actually, the elevator can recover energy both when it is loaded going down and when the empty elevator car is driven up via the elevator motor, and thus, loses energy when braking systems are used. Therefore, the return of energy to the grid is possible through a regenerative frequency drive (VVVF).
Suitable for new installations or can be retrofitted to existing lifts
The KERS uses Skeleton Technologies’ graphene ultracapacitors in order to recirculate and store the energy used in elevators. It allows this energy to be recalled from the ultracapacitor pack when the elevator consumes again. Ultracapacitors provide a high-power density, durability and efficiency thanks to optimized sizing, plug-and-play functionalities, and SiC based DC/DC converters. The KERS can be applied to systems with a capacity up to 15 KW, but it can fulfill higher demand for stored energy by installing multiple systems in parallel.
