Elevator Energy Savings Calculator

Elevators account for 2-10% of a commercial building's total electricity consumption, and in high-rise properties that number climbs higher. Most of the waste comes from outdated drive systems running motors at full power regardless of load, cab lights burning 24/7 on halogen bulbs, and controllers that draw standby power even when the car sits idle for hours. This calculator estimates what you are spending now and what a targeted upgrade could save you -- in dollars, kilowatt-hours, and carbon.

System Details

Elevator Type

Current Drive Type

Number of Elevators

Average Trips per Day (per elevator)

Number of Floors Served

State (for avg. electricity rate)

Or Enter Custom Rate ($/kWh)

How Drive Technologies Compare

The drive system is the single biggest factor in elevator energy consumption. It controls how the motor accelerates, decelerates, and holds the car at floor level. Older systems waste enormous amounts of energy as heat because they run the motor at full voltage regardless of load or direction.

Single-Speed AC

Baseline (worst)

The motor runs at one speed in one direction. Stopping is done mechanically with a brake, wasting all kinetic energy as heat. Common in pre-1970 installations. These systems can draw 30-40 kW per trip in a mid-rise building.

Two-Speed AC

~18% better

Adds a low-speed winding for leveling at floors, reducing the mechanical braking losses. Still inefficient during acceleration. Common in 1970s-1990s installations.

Variable Voltage DC

~32% better

Uses a motor-generator set or SCR controller to vary motor speed smoothly. Better ride quality and lower energy use than AC drives, but the MG set itself consumes power continuously. Common in 1960s-1980s high-rises.

VVVF (Variable Voltage Variable Frequency)

~50% better

The current industry standard. Solid-state inverters precisely control motor speed and torque, eliminating most mechanical braking losses. The motor draws only the power needed for the actual load and travel distance.

Regenerative Drive

~68% better

Builds on VVVF technology but adds the ability to feed energy back into the building electrical grid when the elevator is braking or traveling down with a heavy load. In high-traffic buildings, regenerative drives can return 20-40% of consumed energy back to the building.

Elevator Type & Energy Use

Hydraulic elevators are the least energy-efficient type in operation. They use an electric motor to pump oil into a cylinder, which pushes the car up. Going down, the oil is simply released through a valve -- all the potential energy from the descent is wasted as heat in the oil. There is no counterweight to offset the cab's weight. A modern gearless traction elevator with a regenerative drive can use 50-70% less energy than an equivalent hydraulic system because the counterweight does most of the lifting work and the regen drive recovers braking energy.

Machine Room-Less (MRL) elevators represent the newest generation. They use compact gearless permanent magnet motors mounted in the hoistway, eliminating the machine room entirely. These motors are inherently more efficient than older induction motors, and the absence of a machine room reduces ventilation and lighting overhead. Combined with a regenerative drive, an MRL system is the most energy-efficient elevator configuration available today.

The Hidden Energy Costs Most Owners Miss

Standby power is the silent budget killer. An elevator that makes 150 trips a day is actually moving for only about 40 minutes total. The other 23 hours and 20 minutes, it sits idle -- but the controller, door operator, position indicators, and ventilation fan keep drawing 250-400 watts continuously. In a building with 4 elevators, that idle draw can add up to over 10,000 kWh per year. Modern controllers with sleep mode drop standby consumption to under 50 watts by shutting down non-essential systems between calls.

Cab and hoistway lighting is the other overlooked line item. Most older elevators run 200-400 watts of halogen or fluorescent lighting around the clock -- cab lights, hoistway lights, and pit lights. Switching to LED cuts that consumption by 75-85% and the bulbs last 5-10x longer, reducing maintenance labor costs on top of the energy savings. It is the single lowest-risk, fastest-payback upgrade available on any elevator system.