Elevator error warning when power supply is unstable

Dr. Nguyen Duc Hanh – Director of the Institute of Elevator Application Engineering analyzed and shared about this issue.

In recent days, the prolonged hot weather has led to a sudden increase in the demand for electricity for fans, air conditioners and air conditioners, especially in big cities. As a result, many areas have electrical fluctuations and instability. Could this problem cause any damage to the elevator, Sir?

Flickering power supplies bring a lot of harm and danger to electrical appliances. First of all, this factor causes electronic devices to operate unstable, which can cause equipment damage. It is the phenomenon of lights flickering or reducing the brightness level compared to normal. Or the refrigerator works but does not cool, does not freeze. Or the pump works but is weak, unable to pump or suck water as usual. These are usually easy to observe and recognize.

Particularly for elevators, unstable electricity will create risks with the electrical and electronic systems of the elevator. A weak power supply may cause a sudden stop of the elevator because the electric system and the motor of the elevator do not have enough energy to operate. This sudden stop of the elevator can create a situation of “locking people” in the elevator if someone is moving. This phenomenon is likely to occur in elevators in buildings with high and continuous elevator usage. For home elevators, it is even more dangerous in the case of elderly people and children using them

So, in your opinion, what measures should be taken to avoid the risk of an accident with the elevator at this time?

Summer is the time when the demand for electricity often increases suddenly, easily causing local overload and many unexpected electrical problems. To ensure that the elevators of the building and households operate stably and avoid damage, I have some recommendations as follows:

Firstly, ensure that the electrical system in the building is designed in accordance with the demand for electricity use, the electrical equipment is of good quality, and it is equipped with additional protection devices for the power system such as voltage stabilizers. , device against phase loss, reverse phase, phase unbalance or fuse, aptomat (automatic circuit breaker).

Secondly, for elevators, it is necessary to ensure that the power source is in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations, and perform periodic maintenance in accordance with regulations (at least once every 2 months for building elevators and every 3 months). for home elevators) to control factors of damage, maintenance or replacement of equipment and components that are no longer suitable.

Thirdly, elevators should be equipped with rescue technologies. According to national technical regulations, all elevators have been equipped with an ARD automatic rescue system with an operating mechanism: when a power failure (or a flickering current) causes the elevator to stop suddenly, the system will using the backup power to automatically bring the elevator (cabin) to the nearest floor stop and open the door to help people trapped in the elevator to get out safely. However, in addition to this default rescue system, elevator owners can also equip other automatic rescue systems such as SRS. With the same operating mechanism as ARD, the SRS system will be activated when the elevator is suddenly stopped and the ARD system malfunctions. Two layers of lock are always more secure than one, retrofitting is not required but is a reasonable fallback.

In case the elevator has a sudden stop, hangs the elevator, locks people in the elevator, etc. Do you have any specific instructions?

Depending on the actual situation, there will be actions that need to be done as follows:

Step 1: When the elevator shows signs of malfunction or flicker, immediately disconnect the power to the elevator to avoid short-circuiting the device.

Step 2: If the elevator does not stop at the right floor stop or “locks people up”, the first thing is to keep calm to handle the situation. First, wait for the ARD automatic rescue system to activate. In the waiting situation but the ARD (Automatic Rescue Device) system does not work, if the ladder is equipped with the SRS (Self Rescue System) automatic rescue system, the user presses the SRS button on the call panel to activate the system. this.

Step 3: In the event that the elevator is not equipped with another rescue system, the people in the elevator can contact the outside by the internal phone system (in the buildings), mobile phone or make a call. Emergency call Emcall (Emegency Call). Emcall will help users in turn call 5 phone numbers selected according to the user’s wishes, including the phone of the rescue center and relatives. When pressing the button on the call board in the elevator cabin, the system will automatically contact the phone numbers in sequence until it is connected to the outside, the people trapped in the elevator are rescued.

Step 4: If no one is trapped in the ladder or after escaping, the elevator manager/owner should also notify the elevator technical service unit to check the ladder before operating the elevator. come back. Elevator problems can completely cause damage to equipment, potentially causing many unforeseen risks. Therefore, elevators after experiencing problems or intermittent operation should be checked before re-operation.

Thanks Dr. Nguyen Duc Hanh with useful information.

Editor’s note:

Around 13 o’clock, on July 4, many customers reported to the Hanoi Electricity Corporation (EVN HANOI) about the sudden rise and fall of voltage, and local power outages in some places. According to information from the National Load Dispatch Center, at 13 o’clock on the same day, the Northern electricity system appeared a voltage fluctuation, leading to an electrical problem in the North. The initial cause was determined by the hot weather, which increased electricity consumption, and a number of generator sets had problems that caused voltage fluctuations, then disrupted the power supply. This may have affected the shutdown of many elevators in Hanoi, which readers have reported to Elevator Magazine at the time mentioned above. However, no serious problems have been recorded and after Reset (Factory Reset), the elevators are working normally.

When encountering unusual elevator problems, readers, please contact Elevator Magazine’s hotline: 0989.761.499 or email at contact@tapchithangmay.vn for technical advice.