Elevators, Escalators & Vertical Transport Equipment worked example

Elevator Drive Energy Cost with drive connected load of 9 kW: a worked example

Suppose drive connected load falls to 9 kW. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Estimate elevator or escalator drive energy cost from connected load, runtime, energy rate, and units handled.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Drive connected load: 9 kW (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 18)
  • Drive runtime: 220 hr (held at the documented default)
  • Blended energy rate: 0.16 $ / kWh (held at the documented default)
  • Trips, starts, or units represented: 8,500 units (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Total drive energy cost = drive connected load × drive runtime × blended energy rate.
  • Total drive energy cost works out to 317 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Drive energy used works out to 1,980 kWh at these inputs.
  • Drive energy cost per represented unit works out to 0.04 $ / unit at these inputs.
  • Drive energy cost per runtime hour works out to 1.44 $ / hr at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where drive connected load sits at 18 kW and the headline result is 634 $, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 317 $.
  • It computes total drive energy cost as connected load times runtime times energy rate, then divides by trips or starts to give energy cost per represented unit. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Total drive energy cost: 317 $ (headline result)
  • Drive energy used: 1,980 kWh
  • Drive energy cost per represented unit: 0.04 $ / unit
  • Drive energy cost per runtime hour: 1.44 $ / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Elevator Drive Energy Cost calculator, set drive connected load to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.