Energy savings affect all the parts of a building, and elevators should not be an exception. The TWIN elevators system, designed by Thyssen Krupp, has two cabins, arranged one over the other; they operate independently in the same hoistway.

Each elevator has its own functions of traction, control and safety units. They also share the same guide rails, as well as the floor’s doors. The cars move independently in the hoistway, with a minimum clearance at all time for security reasons.

The system allows to ‘park’ one of the two cabins during off-rush hours, which allows the system to operate as a traditional elevator. This is not a minor issue, since elevators leave a large physical footprint in a building. The fact to put two cabins on the same hoistway makes fewer drives hafts necessary, as stacking the cars increases the capacity by 40%. This also saves a little energy.

Therefore, the system saves energy consumption, time to the users and reduces the consumption of materials.