No matter the capacity of a building, moving people from place to place within a property is always an area of interest. Property and maintenance professionals are always considering new ways to increase safety and speed while keeping energy costs low. Elevators and escalators can have major opportunities and new trends mean big changes to these essential machines.

Smart Elevators

Probably the biggest trend in this area is the smart elevator. A smart elevator refers to a technology-packed elevator system with security systems, touch screens, and more technological advancements.

Smart elevators have the capacity to direct a passenger to the elevator that can handle their movement to a certain floor the fastest, rather than multiple people waiting in the same cab. These elevators can decrease waiting times and help declutter the traffic within a property.

Some smart elevators are beginning to have internet access that is especially helpful for building engineers. Elevators of the future, and even some today, are able to send a single or call to a building engineer when something has malfunctioned. In some cases, the building engineer would be able to fix the issue remotely.

Elevator Analytics

Analytics is a popular word across every industry and in every sector. The reason is because information is one of the most powerful tools a management team can harness. Elevators are beginning to be developed with sensors that track foot traffic, give real-time insights on the operations of their elevator, and even provide information on preventative maintenance work that may need to occur.

The ability to quickly and accurately develop reports like this not only saves time and a few flights of stairs for building engineers, but it can also save money in the budget if a problem is caught before it can occur.

This technology will also allow for records to be more easily and frequently kept. Maintenance and property professionals can create holistic views of their elevator system and develop maintenance and budget strategies from there.

Green Elevators

When it comes to energy savings, green and sustainable projects are always a major consideration. There are many emerging technologies when it comes to green elevators. From computerized systems to reduce light load trips to in-cab sensors that will go into sleep mode when not in use, elevators are not to be overlooked when considering how to make the building more energy efficient.

Destination controls will allow for more accurate and less frequent elevators trips. High traffic areas will soon be better equipped to handle the number of passengers while keeping the energy costs down. There are also green developments in the mechanical operation side of the elevator as well with some elevators containing gearless traction design and drive systems that recover and regenerate energy.

With technologies that can save time and cost on repairs, emerging elevator tech is just another strategic factor to consider in the design of a property. Not only will it help with the operations of the building in some cases, but well-managed elevators systems also increase tenant satisfaction. Watch out for these emerging technologies and more in the next few years.