Researchers at the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Vienna, Austria, have suggested a nifty idea of converting skyscrapers into storage units for energy generated through renewable sources, New Atlas reported. This can be done for existing skyscrapers as well as those that will be built in the future. 

Renewable energy is a promising source that can be used to meet our energy demands in a carbon-free way. One of the significant hurdles in relying on this source is the intermittent nature of how energy is generated using this method.

Amongst the currently available methods, setting up large-scale battery storage facilities is a solution to tide over the uncertainties of power generation. However, this involves a lot of capital expenditure upfront. Therefore, researchers at IIASA have suggested utilizing elevator systems in the skyscrapers as vehicles of energy storage. 

Called the Lift Energy Storage System (LEST), the system will use the downtime of the elevator systems in tall buildings to move heavy items such as containers of wet sand from the bottom floors to the top floors when renewable energy is available in excess. 

When there is a need to use the energy, these weights can be moved back down through the elevators. Regenerative braking systems in the elevators can be used as mini generators of power that can be supplied to the grid. While most new elevators use these systems, even older ones can be retrofitted at a fraction of the cost needed to set up a battery grid. 

Keep reading on InterestingEngineering.com

• 
•