Impact of daily passenger traffic on energy consumption of intermittent-operating escalators

Abstract Currently, intermittent-operating escalators are gaining popularity on the market. The energy consumption of such devices highly relates to the passenger traffic profile during a day. This paper models the energy consumption of intermittent-operating escalators with four different passenger profiles and analyzes the resulting differences in the daily electricity consumption. The passenger profiles and their impact on escalator energy consumption are based on multiple long-term measurements and previous research studies. The results indicate that passenger volumes and density during a day affect the overall energy consumption drastically. The main reason for the differences is the principle of intermittent-operating escalators, the “power demand cycle”, along with the Variable Speed Drive.