Elevator Shaft w/Exterior Glass Wall
Elevator Shaft w/Exterior Glass Wall
(OP)
I have an elevator shaft with en exterior wall that is entirely glass. It is in a parking deck of all things. I have never had this scenario before so looking for options on how to treat the shaft. The project is located in the deep south.
The senior dude in the office believes the shaft should be served by an independent HVAC unit. I think that approach would be a colossal waste of energy and money. My option is to provide an opening as low in the shaft as possible and another at the very top with both having motorized damper interlocked with a T'stat (shut them closed in winter). The movement of the car would act like a piston and move the air around.
I know very little about elevator's and options available, but can't they be equipped with some sort of self contained HVAC unit riding on the top of the car? I did a google search and found some China made pieces of equipment using "elevator HVAC" as the search parameter - but can't tell if what I found is really used for the cars. Did a quick look on Otis Elevator web site but found nothing there to speak of.
Thanks for any help/opinion offered.
Andy W.
The senior dude in the office believes the shaft should be served by an independent HVAC unit. I think that approach would be a colossal waste of energy and money. My option is to provide an opening as low in the shaft as possible and another at the very top with both having motorized damper interlocked with a T'stat (shut them closed in winter). The movement of the car would act like a piston and move the air around.
I know very little about elevator's and options available, but can't they be equipped with some sort of self contained HVAC unit riding on the top of the car? I did a google search and found some China made pieces of equipment using "elevator HVAC" as the search parameter - but can't tell if what I found is really used for the cars. Did a quick look on Otis Elevator web site but found nothing there to speak of.
Thanks for any help/opinion offered.
Andy W.





RE: Elevator Shaft w/Exterior Glass Wall
RE: Elevator Shaft w/Exterior Glass Wall
Who's requiring HVAC in the shaft?
RE: Elevator Shaft w/Exterior Glass Wall
Normally we don't have to deal with the elevator shaft and car (other than smoke venting if required), we do condition the machine room to meet the manufacturer's requirements though.
RE: Elevator Shaft w/Exterior Glass Wall
Walkes, the exposure is east facing as is seven (7) levels of continuous glass.
RE: Elevator Shaft w/Exterior Glass Wall
Open the bottom, open the top. Let natural convection do its thing. Don't put in any dampers - waste of money. Some service tech will only jumper them full open anyway.
Put an exhaust fan in the roof of the cab. Turn it on high speed when the doors open.
Tell the elevator man to make sure that the cab parks with the doors open at the lowest level.
A cab top HVAC unit will fail because it won't be designed to operate in the exceedingly hot shaft environment.
Hope that nobody every gets stuck inside in the summer.
RE: Elevator Shaft w/Exterior Glass Wall
7 stories of glass, say, 10 ft wide, 10-ft stories, and 500 W/m^2 load --> 65 kW. Low-e coatings and tinting on the windows would cut that down drastically.
You can also probably help the problem by using some forced ventilation in the shaft, coupled with a small roof-mounted AC on the car. Some parking structure elevators are VERY slow, and it would be nice to be in an AC'd environment, at least for the duration of the ride.
TTFN
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RE: Elevator Shaft w/Exterior Glass Wall