Differential Evolution Algorithm for Optimizing the Energy Usage of Vertical Transportation in an Elevator (VTE), Taking into Consideration Rush Hour Management and COVID-19 Prevention

Abstract

This research aimed to develop an effective algorithm to minimize the energy use of vertical transportation in elevators while controlling the number of passengers in the elevator waiting area and the number of passengers in the elevator during rush hour, thus maintaining social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19. A mobile application and Internet of Things (IoT) devices were used to electronically communicate between the elevator’s control system and the passengers. IoT devices were used to reduce the number of passengers waiting for an elevator and passengers’ waiting time, while the energy consumption of the lift was reduced by using passenger scheduling and elevator stopping strategies. Three mathematical models were formulated to represent the different strategies used to cause the elevator to stop. These strategies were normal (allowing the elevator to stop at every floor), odd–even (some elevators are allowed to stop at odd floors and others are allowed to stop at even floors of the building), and high–low (some elevators are allowed to stop at high floors and others are allowed to stop at low floors of the building). Lingo v.11 and the differential evolution algorithm (DE) were used to address the optimal scheduling of the passengers and the elevators. The computational results show that the odd–even strategy had a 13.91–23.71% lower energy consumption compared with the high–low and normal strategies. Furthermore, the use of DE consumed 6.67–7.99% less energy than the use of Lingo.v11. Finally, the combination of DE and the designed application reduced the number of waiting passengers, the average passenger waiting time, and the total energy consumption by 74.55%, 75.12%, and 45.01%, respectively.