Case study

First certificate for energy-efficient lifts awarded

(May 2009)

TÜV SÜD Industrie Service has issued the first energy-efficient lift certificate as per VDI Guideline 4707. The service provider certified the energy efficiency of a total of four visitors' and test lifts at corporate headquarters of WITTUR Group. The main components of these lifts had been produced in-house at WITTUR.

"So far, the energy efficiency classes A to G have primarily been used for refrigerators and washing machines", says Dieter Roas, Head of Lifts and Machinery at TÜV SÜD Industrie Service. "The recently adopted VDI guideline 4707, Part 1, now forms the basis for assessing and identifying the energy performance of lift systems."The guideline enables manufacturers and owners/operators to have the energy-efficiency classes of their lift systems determined in line with a standardised set of criteria, and thus gives them reliable guidance to assess the energy performance of their lift systems.

Analysing both operation and standby mode

Certification at WITTUR was also performed in accordance with a procedure defined by the VDI guideline: "Depending on the daily travel time and the number of travel cycles, we first assign the lift to a usage category and then determine standby energy consumption," explains Kai Kügler, expert for lifts and machinery and energy-efficient lift systems. "Last but not least, we measure the lift's total energy consumption during operation in a defined test cycle."

To determine the energy-efficiency class of the specific lift system, TÜV SÜD experts compare the measured values with the reference data included in the VDI guideline. In most cases, standby consumption accounts for the majority of energy costs. Key decisive factors for efficiency, apart from the various lift types, include installation, possible adjustments on the system itself and environmental conditions.

Impetus for product innovations

WITTUR is regarded as one of the leading manufacturers of low-power-consumption electronic lift components, such as lift-car door opening and closing motors with power-saving idle mode when stationary, gearless machines and lift-car lighting using LED technology. WITTUR not only uses the potential for savings identified by TÜV SÜD certification to gain competitive edge through energy efficiency. It also benefits from the valuable impetus for new developments generated at WITTUR by TÜV SÜD's integrated approach. Last but not least, companies such as WITTUR demonstrate through certification that they are willing to fulfil their social responsibilities and are sustainably committed to resource-efficient operations.