The tower crane is the godfather of construction equipment. Its innovative design first made an appearance in 500 BC. The global tower crane market has evolved at a rapid pace ever since. The industry is expected to be worth almost $1 billion by 2028. This humble piece of equipment is essential on construction sites thanks to its capacity to move heavy loads at great heights. It outperforms any other crane in terms of lifting and loading capacity. It can manage dense materials like concrete and steel, so you’ll usually see its characteristic silhouette on every evolving skyline.
How Tower Cranes Work
Ancient Greece invented the first crane in 500 BC. A few centuries later, tower cranes hit the market, relying on a boom and rotating hinge to move heavy materials across long distances. 20th-century industrial designers updated the design to suit dense urban areas. These days, a typical tower crane relies on a series of suspended beams and trolleys. Its functional arm connects to a turntable that extends horizontally. The hoist-and-hook-based trolley mechanism takes care of the rest.
This ingenious design relies on leverage and balance, multiplying force and weight capacity with every additional pulley. It can lift 18 metric tons to heights of 230 feet. Its massive concrete base and counterweights prevent it from tipping over, but it’s anchored and bolted into the ground for extra stability. Variations in design allow tower cranes to adapt to various construction sites. External climbing cranes are useful in cities, while hammerhead cranes excel at horizontal movements. Internal climbing cranes can adjust to tight site-specific restrictions while luffing cranes suit dense urban environments. There’s a tower crane for every load-carrying environment you can imagine, and you don’t even need diesel to run one.
Meeting Tower Crane Power Requirements
Old-fashioned cranes were powered by hydraulics, but many brands migrated to electricity in the Disco Era. This allowed tower cranes to operate at variable speeds. Electricity has given modern cranes improved hoisting winches while cultivating their energy efficiency. Many of today’s products offer a choice of electric, hybrid, and diesel modes. This way, construction sites can minimise their diesel emissions without permanently migrating away from this accessible fuel. Typical tower crane equipment is a moderate electricity user powered by 208 volts, but digital technology is adding significantly to tower crane power requirements. Embedded cameras, anti-collision systems, and computer-aided interfaces have become a key part of the market, so many products guzzle an enormous amount of electricity. That said, hydraulic cranes haven’t lost their appeal. They still account for 68% of the market, which means you can limit your electricity usage to affordable levels.
The Problem with Diesel
98% of all energy use in the construction industry comes from diesel. This destructive fuel accounts for over half of all off-road fuel usage, so the UK government has announced its intention to ban it from new machinery and vehicles used in industries by 2040. Red diesel tax rebates have been retracted for the construction industry and construction businesses must adjust to the impending ban now or risk spending invaluable funds on equipment they won’t be able to use in the decades to come. The more clean alternatives you invest in today, the more returns you’ll enjoy over the long term. Investing in diesel-reliant equipment will, of course, hurt more than your pocket. It will harm the environment as well. If you want a clean construction site and the squeaky clean conscience it fosters, you’ll need an innovative power supply.
Powering Your Crane
On remote construction sites, power isn’t always easy to come by. Diesel generators have been the source of choice in off-grid environments, but there’s little point in investing in an eco-friendly tower crane, only to power it with a product that increases your emissions. This is where the Hussh Pod makes its grand entrance. This state-of-the-art battery power unit is offered in a range of capacities. It can be charged with a range of renewable energy options but, if an emergency strikes, it allows you to switch to diesel backup, too. Hussh Pods are silent, efficient, and capable of reducing emissions.
Every construction site has its own unique challenges and conditions, so Power Saving Solutions offers bespoke configurations to suit even the toughest of environments. The pods can be used in parallel to maximise your capacity, so the solution is fully scalable. Hybrid generators are remarkably adaptive and can even recharge while supplying operational power. If need be, you can use a diesel generator to power your crane by day and switch over to your hybrid product by night to help power the aviation obstruction light. This can reduce your emissions drastically without saddling you with downtime.
Coping with Extreme Power Requirements
Large tower crane and generator setups can burn as much as 100 gallons of diesel an hour. A clean energy solution will have a drastic impact on both your conscience and pocket. If you have a power-hungry crane that operates at all hours of the day and night, we can create a tailor made Hussh Pod that is up to the challenge. It even can even have a data and monitoring platform that allows you to assess your power usage over time. The system provides email notifications when your site experiences power-related crises. Power Saving Solutions works hard to adjust to every client, so it offers customised housing and on-site installation. As your business grows, you can add new generators in parallel, paving the way towards a zero-emissions brand.
What You Can Expect to Save
On average, hybrid, battery-powered generators can reduce your fuel burn by as much as 80%. They free you from a continuously-running fuel-powered energy source and are the go-to solution for off-grid requirements. They minimise on-site noise, making compliance easy to achieve in residential areas. They’ll even deliver tax incentives along the way. Hussh Pod has carved a special niche for itself as the number one renewable energy source for industrial usage. It can operate around the clock, making net-zero carbon a real possibility, but its best asset is its easy customisation. With Power Saving Solutions, you can adapt your generator to any eventuality.
If Power Savings Solutions gets its way, the world will build sustainability into every industry on the planet. A clean environment is a healthy environment, but it’s also cheaper to manage. It’s finally possible to operate a fully electric construction site. As time marches on, electrification will become standard fare in the industry, and tower cranes will come along for the ride, Hussh Pod in tow.