Eco-Friendly Elevator Systems: How KONE is Leading the Way in Sustainable Vertical Transport

For Australia's leading developers, architects, and urban planners, the definition of a 'high-performance building' has evolved.

A decade ago, it was about aesthetics and location. Today, it’s a data-driven equation defined by asset value, operational efficiency, and sustainability ratings.

At KONE, our strategic focus is to re-engineer vertical transport from a mere utility into an eco-efficient asset. We focus on modern, eco-friendly elevator systems that enhance a building, lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO). This actively contributes to your sustainability targets.

In this market, achieving a high Green Star rating, Australia's benchmark for sustainable design and construction, or a high NABERS rating, which measures a building's operational environmental performance, isn't a 'nice to have'; it's a commercial imperative that directly impacts lettability, tenant retention, and long-term capital growth.

The term green elevators is often used loosely. From a developer's or architect's perspective, a truly sustainable system must be measured against three distinct pillars of performance.

1. Operational Energy: The classic metric. This is the power consumed to move the car, open the doors, and run the controls - all of which directly impact your building's electricity bills and NABERS rating.
2. Standby Power: This is the "vampire load" of vertical transport. In many buildings, lifts sit idle for a significant portion of their life. We analyse the energy consumed during this standby time, from car lighting and fans to the control systems.
3. Embodied Carbon: This is a critical factor for Green Star compliance. It represents the carbon footprint of the elevator's entire manufacturing and supply chain, from raw material extraction to installation.

A system that only addresses one of these pillars is incomplete. The KONE strategy is to provide solutions that deliver measurable gains across all three.

The single greatest leap in elevator eco-efficiency came from re-inventing the motor. For generations, the industry standard relied on two technologies: hydraulic systems for low-rise buildings and geared traction machines for mid-rise or high-rise buildings.

Both are notoriously inefficient. Hydraulic lifts use immense energy to pump fluid, generating waste heat that requires oil-cooling systems. Geared machines lose significant energy to friction and heat dissipation within the gearbox.

The KONE EcoDisc® hoisting machine renders both obsolete. This permanent-magnet, gearless motor is a revolution in design.

• Radical Efficiency: By eliminating the gearbox, the EcoDisc® slashed energy consumption. When replacing an old hydraulic lift, the EcoDisc® can cut energy use by up to 70%.
• Space-Saving Design: The motor is so flat and compact that it can be mounted inside the lift shaft, eliminating the need for a bulky, separate machine room. This Machine-Room-Less (MRL) design is a profound advantage for architects, freeing up an entire room's worth of valuable, lettable floor space.
• Cleaner Operations: The gearless design removes the risk of hydraulic oil leaks, a significant environmental and maintenance hazard.

This motor is the foundational technology for the most energy-efficient elevators in Australia and forms the core of our KONE MonoSpace® DX platform.

While the EcoDisc® minimises energy consumption, a regenerative drive system minimises net energy waste.

In any traditional elevator, the motor acts as a brake when a heavy car travels down or a light car travels up. This braking action generates significant energy, which is simply dissipated as waste heat into the machine room. It’s a double loss: you waste the generated energy, and your building's HVAC system must then expend more energy to remove that heat.

KONE's regenerative drives capture, "clean," and feed this braking energy back into the building's electrical grid.

This system effectively turns your elevator into a part-time power generator. In a busy, mid-rise commercial building, a regenerative drive can recover 20-40% of the elevator's total energy consumption. It directly lowers your net energy use, eases the load on your mechanical systems, and is a key contributor to your building's overall eco-performance.

Hardware alone is not enough. The most significant gains are now found in intelligent software, which is where KONE's digital leadership comes to the fore. Our sustainable lifts, like the DX Class, are connected platforms designed to optimise "People Flow"(how people move smoothly, safely, and efficiently through a building). This eradicates energy waste.

An efficient motor running an empty car or making unnecessary stops is still inefficient. KONE's digital platform attacks this problem:

• Destination Control System (DCS): By grouping passengers with similar destinations, our DCS streamlines journeys, drastically reducing the number of stops and optimising travel paths. This isn't just a better tenant experience; it's a direct energy-saving strategy.
• Smart Standby Modes: Our systems aggressively hunt for "vampire loads," powering down LED car lights, displays, and ventilation fans during idle periods, and reactivating them instantly when needed.
• Future-Proof Connectivity: DX Class elevators feature open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), allowing them to communicate directly with your Building Management System (BMS).

This allows for integrated, building-wide energy management strategies - a must for truly smart, sustainable assets.

Finally, KONE's commitment extends to the full asset lifecycle. We provide transparent Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), giving you full visibility of our products' embodied carbon to support your Green Star submissions.

This holistic view is most powerful in modernisation. The most sustainable building is the one that already exists.

Our modular upgrade solutions allow building owners to replace an ageing, inefficient hydraulic or geared machine with a modern KONE EcoDisc® and regenerative drive, all while retaining the core structure. This approach slashes future operational energy while minimising the embodied carbon of a full replacement.

To learn more about our comprehensive approach and global commitments, we invite you to explore KONE's sustainability initiatives.

To see the technical specifications of our flagship eco-efficient platform, discover the KONE MonoSpace® DX.