In South Florida, elevators machine rooms get hot all year round – often very hot. When that happens, temperatures typically exceed the equipment limits.
Elevator equipment is not designed to function optimally in extreme temperatures – even older equipment was designed to operate in a range of 60 to 90 degrees.
Heat that exceeds this range will cause erratic operation and equipment shutdowns. As the equipment continues to age, heat causes additional stress and failures and ultimately shortens the equipment’s lifespan.
All microprocessor equipment is manufactured with a requirement to control both temperature and humidity.
Thus, any equipment installed after 1980 would need both temperature and humidity control to function reliably. What’s more, the elevator safety code requires all new equipment be air conditioned to the limits specified by the manufacturer.
We recommend that all machine rooms be checked for the presence of a properly functioning climate control system. If none exists, we recommend that it be installed. Machine room air conditioning will extend the life of existing equipment and can be retained as a part of a future modernization program.
What are the requirements for cooling the elevator machine room?
Per the Uniform Building Code, Section 3005: 3005.1 Operation of Solid-State Equipment. When solid-state equipment is used to operate the elevators, the elevator equipment room shall be provided with an independent ventilation or air conditioning system to prevent overheating of the electrical equipment. The operating temperature shall be established by the elevator equipment manufacture’s specification. When standby power is connected to the elevators, the machine room ventilation or air conditioning shall be connected to standby.
The important information required to design and install a system that will ensure the equipment room is properly cooled is to determine the load generated by the equipment and what the manufacturer’s recommended space temperature.
In general, the maximum allowable temperature in the room is 90°F and the heat generated to the space is a minimum of 9,000 BTUh.
How do we maintain these new elevator equipment room temperatures below 90°F and what other precautions should be put in place?
Maintaining the elevator room <90°F. Provide a split system air conditioning system with an outdoor condensing unit and an indoor unit located INSIDE/OUTSIDE of the elevator equipment room.
Some elevator equipment manufacturers and inspectors do not allow for any other equipment inside the room so that their equipment can be serviced and unaffected by an HVAC unit. Set the thermostat to maintain 86°F to ensure space temperature is met.
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