Optimization of Elevator Standby Scheduling Strategy in Smart Buildings

Abstract

Elevator Group Control Systems (EGCSs) play a key role in managing the passenger flow and consumption of energy in modern buildings. However, existing EGCS algorithms are typically only applied to real-time passenger calls, which does not take the long-term statistics of passenger requirement into account. To address this gap, we propose a standby strategy that proactively repositioning idle elevators even if there is no passenger call. It calculates a combined score that balances the expected waiting time and the energy consumption to determine the optimal standby floors for idle elevators. We implement this strategy on a simple baseline dispatcher using the closest car algorithm and introduce tunable parameters to adjust the standby behavior. Experiments on mid-rise and high-rise building scenarios show that the standby strategy significantly reduces the average waiting time for passengers by more than 24% in both cases. Moreover, because this strategy operates independently of the core dispatcher, it can be combined with existing EGCS algorithms to further improve waiting time without compromising core energy optimizations. These findings demonstrate that proactive standby repositioning is an effective complementary approach for next-generation elevator control systems and offers a practical way to reduce waiting times under realistic office building traffic conditions.