As a passenger elevators supplier, I get this question all the time—usually from architects, building developers, and sustainability managers who are juggling energy efficiency goals with the practical needs of high-rise or mixed-use spaces. Most people don’t think of elevators as a major environmental factor, but they make up a significant portion of a building’s energy use, especially in dense urban areas where tall buildings are the norm. Over the 15 years I’ve been working in this industry, I’ve seen how elevator technology has evolved to reduce its carbon footprint, but there’s still a lot of misinformation out there. Today, I want to break down the real environmental impacts of passenger elevators—both the ones we can measure and the ones we’re still learning about—and explain how forward-thinking suppliers are addressing them. Passenger Elevators
First, let’s talk about the big one: energy consumption. I recently worked on a project for a 22-story office building in downtown Chicago, where the sustainability team’s first question was, “How much energy will your elevators use, and can we bring that number down?” After running simulations with our latest gearless traction elevators, we found they’d use about 35% less energy than the hydraulic elevators the building originally specified. But what does that number actually look like in real terms? For a building with 6 passenger elevators running 16 hours a day, that adds up to roughly 120,000 kWh per year. Multiply that by the average carbon intensity of grid electricity in the U.S.—about 0.4 kg CO2 per kWh—and that’s 48,000 kg of carbon emissions just from elevators every year. In a city like Los Angeles, where the grid gets more solar power, that number drops to around 20,000 kg, but it’s still a meaningful chunk of a building’s total emissions.
Hydraulic elevators, which are common in mid-rise residential buildings, are even less efficient. They use a plunger to lift the car, and a lot of that energy is lost as heat when the car descends. I’ve seen older hydraulic elevators in 10-story apartment buildings use twice as much energy as modern traction models, and some are so inefficient that they account for 10% of the building’s entire electricity bill. That’s why we’ve stopped selling hydraulic elevators for most new projects in favor of traction systems, especially gearless ones that use permanent magnet motors to cut down on friction and energy waste.
But energy use isn’t just about how the elevator runs during operation—we also have to account for embodied carbon. Embodied carbon is the total greenhouse gases emitted to manufacture, transport, and install an elevator, and it’s a factor that many building owners overlook when comparing “green” options. A typical passenger elevator has around 10,000 parts, including steel for the rails and car structure, copper for wiring and motors, and glass or metal for the car interior. Mining and processing those materials has a big carbon footprint: steel production alone accounts for about 7% of global carbon emissions. For a 20-story building, a set of elevators can have an embodied carbon impact of 50,000 to 100,000 kg CO2. That’s not a small number, and it’s even more critical when you consider that buildings are now expected to operate sustainably over their 50 to 100-year lifespan—so we have to balance upfront embodied carbon with long-term operational energy use.
I remember a project in Seattle a few years back where the developer was torn between a standard elevator and a more expensive model made with recycled steel. The initial quote for the recycled steel elevator was 12% higher, but when we ran the full lifecycle analysis (LCA), we found that it would cut embodied carbon by 40%, and over 20 years, the energy savings would offset the higher upfront cost. They went with the recycled steel option, and a year after installation, their sustainability manager told me it had helped the building earn LEED Platinum certification. That’s when I realized that suppliers need to be transparent about both operational and embodied carbon, not just one or the other.
Another environmental impact I talk about with customers is noise pollution, which might not seem like a “green” issue at first, but it has real environmental and health consequences. Elevators don’t just make noise in the car—they transmit vibrations through the building structure, which can disturb residents or office workers on lower floors. In a residential building, chronic noise pollution from elevators has been linked to higher stress levels and sleep disturbances, which affects quality of life, but it also has indirect environmental impacts if it leads to residents moving out and requiring new construction. From a sustainability perspective, that’s a waste of resources, so we’ve started offering noise-dampening technologies, like rubber mounts for elevator motors and insulated cab walls, that cut operating noise by up to 50%. For the Seattle apartment building I mentioned earlier, the noise levels were so low that residents didn’t even notice the elevators were running—a small detail that made a big difference in their satisfaction.
Then there’s the impact of end-of-life. Elevators aren’t built to last forever—most have a 20 to 25-year lifespan, and when they’re replaced, the old ones often end up in landfills. Steel, copper, and even aluminum from elevator parts are recyclable, but many older models don’t have built-in systems to separate materials, so a lot of them get mixed in with general waste. I’ve seen entire old elevator cars being hauled to landfills, which is not only a waste of valuable materials but also adds to the carbon footprint of new elevator production because manufacturers have to mine more virgin materials. That’s why our company now offers a take-back program for old elevators when we install new ones—we work with local recycling partners to strip out reusable parts, separate metals, and send non-recyclable components to proper facilities. In the last three years, we’ve recycled over 2,000 tons of elevator parts that would have otherwise gone to landfills, and it’s become a selling point for customers who care about circular economy principles.
But here’s the thing: elevators aren’t just a source of environmental harm—they can also be part of the solution. Smart elevator technology, for example, is transforming how elevators use energy and how buildings operate. Modern destination dispatch systems use algorithms to group passengers going to the same floor, reducing wait times and the number of empty elevator trips. I worked on a 30-story office building in Houston where we installed destination dispatch, and after a year, the building manager reported that elevator energy use had dropped by another 15% on top of the energy savings from the gearless motors. That’s because instead of each elevator making multiple trips up and down for single passengers, it’s optimized to carry more people at once, cutting down on unnecessary movement.
We’re also seeing more elevators integrated with building energy management systems (BEMS), which allow them to adjust their operation based on building energy use. For example, on days when the building is using solar power from rooftop panels, the elevators can prioritize running during peak solar hours, reducing reliance on grid electricity. In the future, I expect elevators to even feed energy back into the grid, similar to how electric vehicles do. Regenerative drives, which are already used in some modern elevators, convert the kinetic energy of a descending car into electricity that can be used to power other parts of the building. Right now, that energy is mostly used within the elevator system, but as BEMS become more advanced, we could see that energy being shared with the rest of the building or even sent back to the grid.
Of course, there are still challenges to overcome. In many parts of the world, older buildings have outdated elevators that use way more energy than they need to, and replacing them isn’t always feasible due to cost or construction constraints. That’s why we also offer retrofit solutions—upgrading motors, controls, and drives in existing elevators to improve efficiency without replacing the entire system. I recently retrofitted a 15-story residential building in Miami that had hydraulic elevators using 180,000 kWh per year. After replacing the motors and adding regenerative drives, their energy use dropped by 55%, saving them over $15,000 a year on electricity. For building owners who can’t afford a full replacement, retrofits are a great way to reduce environmental impact while keeping costs manageable.
Another challenge is the lack of standardized data on elevator environmental impacts. Every supplier calculates energy use and embodied carbon differently, which makes it hard for customers to compare options. That’s why our company has worked with industry groups to create transparent, standardized lifecycle assessments for all our elevator models. We share the full LCA with every customer, including operational energy use, embodied carbon, and end-of-life recycling rates, so they can make informed decisions that align with their sustainability goals. I think more suppliers need to do this, because without clear data, customers can’t choose the most environmentally friendly option.
At the end of the day, elevators are an essential part of modern life—without them, high-rise buildings wouldn’t be possible, and urban centers wouldn’t function the way they do. But that doesn’t mean we can ignore their environmental impacts. As a passenger elevators supplier, our job isn’t just to sell elevators—it’s to help customers reduce their carbon footprint while still meeting the practical needs of their buildings. That means investing in new technologies, being transparent about our environmental impact, and offering solutions that balance efficiency, cost, and sustainability.
If you’re working on a building project and want to learn more about how elevators can impact your environmental goals, or if you’re looking to retrofit an existing elevator to reduce energy use, we’d be happy to work with you. Our team has experience with projects of all sizes, from mid-rise residential buildings to large office towers, and we can provide customized solutions that fit your needs and budget. We don’t just build elevators—we build sustainable transportation systems that help make buildings and cities more environmentally friendly.
Hospital Elevator References
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. (2022). Elevator Energy Efficiency: Opportunities for Reducing Building Energy Use.
Steel Recycling Institute. (2021). Environmental Impacts of Steel Production and Recycling.
International Code Council. (2023). Lifecycle Assessment for Building Systems: Elevators and Conveyance.
National Institute of Building Sciences. (2022). Whole Building Design Guide: Conveyance Systems.
Environmental Protection Agency. (2021). Sustainable Materials Management: Construction and Demolition Waste.
Ningbo Dongao Elevator Co., Ltd.
As one of the most experienced passenger elevators manufacturers and suppliers in China, we also support customized service. We warmly welcome you to buy high quality passenger elevators for sale here from our factory. For quotation, contact us now.
Address: No. 16 Xiapan Road, Ninghai County, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province
E-mail: 13777289058@163.com
WebSite: https://www.daelevator.com/
