Elevators Rise in The World Of Sustainability
In one sense, traditional elevators have only two directions. But, the path to elevator sustainability has been long and winding. That’s changing, however: After years of wrong turns, the vertical transportation industry and building owners are at last mutually aligned in their commitment to creating a healthier, more sustainable future.
Often ignored or disregarded as an energy drain, elevators have been the focus of technology advancements that have inspired building owners and managers to reconsider how they could not only help improve energy efficiency, but also help meet some of the industry’s most stringent green building certifications.
One of the reasons building owners haven’t traditionally prioritized elevator systems as part of their sustainability initiatives is that, up until recently, elevators had been excluded from LEED consideration. Through the last LEED version, which was effective until 2016, elevators were grouped as specialty equipment and were deemed too expensive, thus compromising the low-cost thresholds for material credits in LEED. But, through encouragement from major elevator companies, leadership at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) decided that key building components could no longer be excluded if true building improvements were to occur, and that change was reflected in LEED v4.
As a result, elevators have become essential to any green building. But, as building owners and developers have pursued LEED credits, they’ve recognized that still more can be done. Beyond LEED, developers began to create buildings that have no negative impact, make more power than they are using and incorporate safe and healthy building products.
