Buildings can consume as much as 40 percent of the total energy produced globally. Elevators are responsible for up to 10 percent of that consumed energy. Recognizing the role the elevator industry plays in improving building energy efficiency, the Alliance to Save Energy has elected to its board, thyssenkrupp Elevator CEO Andreas Schierenbeck.
The Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) is a 40-year-old association that brings together policy makers and innovators to help enhance energy productivity to achieve economic growth, a clean environment and energy security, affordability and reliability.
“We don’t elect companies to the Board, we elect people,” says Kateri Callahan, president of ASE. “You need someone to have a passion and vision, and Andreas has that.”
Schierenbeck has helped thyssenkrupp Elevator establish a presence in the green building realm, advocating for more environmentally friendly technologies and policies. Under his leadership, thyssenkrupp Elevator has pioneered numerous innovations, including a net-zero energy system for existing elevators that focuses on improving energy efficiency even when the elevator is idle, which can be as much as 70 percent of its working life. The design also uses controllers, which trigger hibernation or sleep modes in idle cabins, leading to reduced power consumption. The required energy can be generated using solar panels no larger than the footprint of the elevator shaft, creating net-energy positive systems that generate more energy than they consume.
The net-zero elevator concept is part of the thyssenkrupp Elevator focus on providing products and services that enhance urban mobility and energy savings, while creating smarter, sustainable cities.
“Elevators consume a notable part of today’s energy worldwide, putting them right at the heart of the energy efficiency debate,” says Schierenbeck. “We need to take into account the ability of elevator solutions to create future cities. As a new board member of ASE, I am dedicated to energy-efficient, sustainable solutions and convinced that we can effect change in how we consume energy.”