Double-deck elevators for tomorrow's high-rises

High-rise buildings in the country, especially those with 30 floors and more, may soon see double-deck elevators. 

Hyundai Elevator Company of Korea is initially targeting Mumbai and Gurgaon for the product, through its joint venture, Kinetic Hyundai Elevators and Movement Technologies, Pune. A double-deck elevator comprises two cars, one mounted atop the other. Both operate on a single shaft. This allows passengers on consecutive floors to use the elevator simultaneously. 

The lower car serves odd-numbered floors while the upper serves even-numbered ones. The double-deck could also be used to transport goods simultaneously with passengers. 

Double-deck elevators occupy less building core space when compared with traditional single-deck elevators for the same level of traffic. In skyscrapers, this allows more efficient use of space, as the floor area required by elevators is significant. 

Some builders have also used shared-shaft elevators, where multiple elevators use different sections of the same shaft to serve different floors, with sky lobbies separating the sections. 

The maximum speed of a double-deck elevator is 600 metres per minute, whereas the speed of an ordinary lift is 90-120 metres per minute, notes Kinetic Hyundai Managing Director Manish Motwani. 

"These are generally used in multi-storey buildings above 30 storeys, where the volume of traffic is large. There is also paucity of space in high-rise buildings, so double-decker elevators come in handy, as they serve twice the capacity while using a single shaft. These elevators increase efficiency and save energy consumption," he adds. 

At present, Hyundai Elevators is still on the lookout for clients. The company plans to complete developing an operating system (OS) capable of managing eight doubledeckers by September. Currently, they have an OS capable of managing 12 single-decker elevators. The company has successfully used this technology in Korea, Japan and the US. 

"The scope of double-deck elevators in India will depend on how high the skyscrapers are built," opines Raheja Builders’ Executive Director Nayan Raheja. 

He adds that Raheja Builders "is always open to welcome new technologies for our project". His only concern is the high costs associated with these kinds of elevators. According to Oberoi Realty Executive Vice-President (architecture), Rajendra Chandorkar, "The price of a double-deck elevator is roughly 1.5 times more than a single deck elevator." 

Otis Elevator executives say they will take a call soon. Laurent Bruyère, managing director, Otis India, says: "Double-deck elevators will become more desirable and financially viable, India being the second largest elevator market in the world ."