Documentation

VT Planner Elevator Setups Guide

Guide to fixed elevator setups and Compare variants studies with car-specific settings, energy assumptions, motion, doors, passenger transfer, and service zones.

An elevator setup records one alternative for the current saved building: group size, capacity, motion, doors, passenger transfer timings, service model, optional car-specific differences, and optional energy assumptions.

Fixed Setup or Compare Variants

Choose the setup kind according to the question:

Kind	Use it for	Available analyses
`Fixed setup`	One defined alternative, a base case, or a reusable option.	Calculation, Simulation, and Multi-run simulation. Car-specific settings are simulation-only.
`Compare variants`	A sweep of car count, capacity, or rated speed using `List` or `Range` values.	Calculation batch or Simulation batch.

Use a clear Setup name and put the assumptions that distinguish the option in Notes.

Fixed elevator setup editor with group, motion, door, and service settings — Keep the identifying assumptions in the setup name and review each section before saving.View full size

Group Definition

Number of elevators: cars in the group.
Capacity: rated mass capacity.
passenger capacity: the corresponding pax value shown by VT Planner.

For Compare variants, vary only the dimensions needed to answer the comparison. The launch panel shows the resulting number of cases before execution.

Different Settings by Car

Enable Different settings by car when one or more cars in the group have different physical or timing data. The group values remain the base configuration; expand Car N and enter only that car's differences in capacity, motion, doors, dwell, loading, or unloading.

Use Copy settings from to start from another car, or Copy group base to restore the common values. When a field matches the group base, it returns to the common setting and is no longer listed as a car-specific difference.

Compare variants group definition with car count and capacity enabled as list variations — Enable only the values you intend to compare, then review each list or range and the resulting case count.View full size

Motion Profile

Enter:

Rated speed;
Acceleration;
Jerk;
Start delay;
Levelling delay.

Default timings provides a coherent starting point based on the selected speed. Review those values when the project has specific equipment data.

Doors and Passenger Transfer

The Doors section includes:

Door type;
Door width;
Door opening;
Door closing;
Door pre-opening.

The passenger-transfer section includes:

Loading time;
Unloading time;
Dwell time;
Lobby dwell time;
Dwell 2, the post-transfer door hold-open time at a stop.

Service Model

Choose:

Full group service when every car serves the full set of floors;
Manual zoning when cars and floors must be divided into zones.

The manual zoning editor is organized into Zones, Floor assignment, Car assignment, and Review. Every car must belong to exactly one zone, and every required served floor must be covered.

Correct missing floor coverage, missing car assignments, and other base zoning errors before saving. A setup can still be saved when only a simulation entrance-coverage issue remains unresolved; Analysis then blocks the incompatible run and explains what needs attention.

See Zoning and Transfers before using overlapping zones or transfer floors.

Energy Model

Turn on Configure in Energy model to save drive, regeneration, standing-power, and regeneration-credit assumptions with the setup. Enable Include energy analysis for each simulation that should estimate energy.

See Operational Energy for model choices, run controls, result interpretation, and supported operating ranges.

Save, Select, and Archive

Select Save setup. The Saved elevator setups table then shows the setup kind, cars, capacity, speed, energy-model status, and setup status. A setup with car-specific differences also identifies the number of customized cars in its saved detail.

Saved elevator setups table with the currently selected setup and its saved snapshot — Select a saved row to inspect its current status and frozen setup details before analysis.View full size

Common statuses are:

Ready: saved for the current building;
Selected: the setup currently chosen for analysis;
Outdated: saved against an older building version.

Archive alternatives that have left the active comparison. Historical runs retain their frozen setup after the alternative is archived.