Voltage Regulating

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solis

Member
In a 2 story building we service, the lights will go out for 10 seconds whenever the elevator goes up. This is due to the elevator motor make a large amp/ voltage demand on the power for the building and the smart ballasts in the light fixtures sensing the power fluctuation and shutting down then powering back up. We have tried to get the elevator vendor to change out the motor for a soft start system but they say it cannot be done.
They are on separate circuits, tree is only one panel that serves that building, is there a conditioner I can put ahead of the lighting circuits or on the panel, something opposite of a surge protector? Someone suggested a capacitor bank but it sounds really expensive. Any suggestions?
 

mgookin

Senior Member
Location
Fort Myers, FL
I'd suggest a datalogger to see what's going on. Are you also burning up a/c compressors and other equipment?

Your profile says lighting retrofit PM. Did you just recently change out all the lighting? If yes, what was going on prior to the retrofit?

UPS for the lighting demands would be a quick cure but cost money & compel maintenance. Would rather see the power problems fixed.
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
In a 2 story building we service, the lights will go out for 10 seconds whenever the elevator goes up. This is due to the elevator motor make a large amp/ voltage demand on the power for the building and the smart ballasts in the light fixtures sensing the power fluctuation and shutting down then powering back up.

Did anyone check to see if you just have a bad connection on the service cable at the point of attachment , overhead or disconnect ? Or even a bad main breaker? How big is the service to start with and how bad is it loaded.
 

GoldDigger

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Placerville, CA, USA
Occupation
Retired PV System Designer
A UPS or a constant voltage transformer are two solutions that are attractive for low power situations, but could be far too expensive for whole building lighting use.
You could do something like that on just the night/emergency light circuits to minimize safety problems when the lights go out.
A contactor controlled boost transformer might be a possibility (basically a single tap voltage regulator).
First though you need to find out what the actual voltage versus time profile is when the elevator starts going up.
 

Tony S

Senior Member
The data logger needs to be used at the apartment incoming supply and at the main incoming supply to the block. Probably not possible at the same time but will indicate where the problem lies.

A question, do the other occupants have the same problems with dimming lamps?
 

Jraef

Moderator, OTD
Staff member
Location
San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer
We have tried to get the elevator vendor to change out the motor for a soft start system but they say it cannot be done.
Not true if it is a 3 phase service, it's done ALL the time, for this EXACT reason. But if it is a single phase service they are correct, there are no soft starters approved for that use.

If it is a single phase service, it's likely too small for the elevator motor (or the elevator motor is too big for the service). Any solution is going to be expensive, but if your only goal is making the lighting work, there are ways to do that. However if it is doing this to the lighting, it's doing it to ever other electronic device in the building. They should have someone look into it with the proper instrumentation and with an eye to upgrading their service. The PoCo may even be willing to do that for you. Assuming it was a permitted project, they probably would have had to approve the installation of the elevator based on the service size, so they could be held responsible.
 
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