“Take the long way home” sang the super-group Supertramp. I say take the long way up — or down.
Do you work in multi-story office building? Go to the mall where there is a staircase beside the escalators? Live in a multi-residential building?
I am an able-bodied person who wants to improve her fitness level and believes that an elevator ride multiplied by ‘x’ number of times a day is an unnecessary luxury.
I have no exact numbers to give you because it is pretty difficult to determine just how much electricity you save by not taking the elevator. Many factors must be considered, such as how large the elevator is, how heavy the load is, how many floors it has to rise/descend, and the system employed by the elevator. An elevator manufacturer in the business of making energy-efficient systems reports that the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by an elevator varies a great deal, depending on its size and usage. For example, during its 25 years life cycle, the standard elevator in a five-story residential building generates almost six times less carbon dioxide than a bigger elevator in a 16-story office building.
Other sites on the web estimate a three floor trip taken twice a day at something like 450 watt hours per month, but the data source is not revealed.
What we do know is that we are draining our energy sources everyday by habits of convenience that are not essential; we do have the power to change our habits if we are up to the challenge.
I live on the third floor of a five-story building with two elevators. The mail boxes are located conveniently near the elevators so when I return home from the work day, I often take the elevator to get up to my unit. Since I would have to make a short detour to get to the stairwell, I take the elevator up because it is right there.
Starting now, the mailbox location in my building and its 20 second detour will not determine my decision to take the stairs. But if I don’t change my habits overnight, it’s okay. I will just have to take it “one step at a time.”
Make a difference − share this environmental tip with your friends.
