The ETP Method: Deriving Passenger Numbers from Escalator Energy Consumption

This paper investigates the relationship between the number of passengers using the escalator and the power it consumes. Seven high usage escalators (of all types of rises) have been selected for this study to investigate the relationship between power and passengers. One day surveys were carried out on each escalator. Passengers boarding or alighting were counted in one minute intervals, at the same time that a power monitoring unit was connected to the motor of the escalator to record the average power and power factor in one minute periods corresponding to the same minutes as those of the passenger counts. The resulting data was used to find the fixed losses (i.e., the power consumed with no passengers being carried) in relation to the escalator rise in metres. A general method for calculating the fixed losses on any escalator has been outlined.