Ensuring elevator safety in high-rise buildings is crucial, the first step to this is understanding emergency power distribution.
It’s important for building owners and property managers to be aware of the elevator emergency power and high-rise considerations for their buildings as outlined in OBC Section 3.2.6.
In tall buildings (over 18m high), elevators for firefighter use should be fed from a life safety emergency power source through the building’s emergency power distribution system, via an automatic transfer switch (ATS) and 2 hour rated cabling. There are certain requirements for signals to be sent from the ATS with to the elevator controller to safely to ensure that the elevator is safely shut down while the ATS transfers the power from one source to another.
For very tall buildings (over 36m high), there are additional considerations. For example, elevators need to be programmed with elevator recall and evacuation sequence of operations. There are also communication and security requirements.
The HVAC systems serving elevator machine rooms should be able to handle the heat output from elevator controllers, and also maintain temperatures above freezing for elevators that serve exterior areas.
Learn more about emergency power distribution for elevators in your high-rise buildings, and how we can help you protect the occupants in your building by ensuring your elevators comply with the latest codes.