Essential Guide for selecting the best home elevator

Differences between Commercial/Local and Certified Home Elevators

With advent of technology and rise in sedentary lifestyle some of the inventions whose applications and usage were limited to public places found their way into people’s homes. An elevator or a lift is one among many such examples. Whether it is due to physical disability or mobility issues, multi-storey homes or for making a style statement the elevator found it’s place inside homes, carrying people up and down and thus saving the hassle of using the stairs.

With limited technology and even limited choices available for a home setup, people opted for the most commonly available choice.. a commercial elevator or a lift.

However, in the past few decades manufacturers across the world have listened to their customers and based on the statistics of mishaps across the world, have come up with Home Elevators. Elevators that are specifically designed for safe use in homes.

Let’s have a look at what differentiates a Certified Home Elevator from a Commercial Elevator. You can later use the checklist given at the end of this document while comparing home elevators.

1.     Certifications : Most of the elevators have the motor/pump/piston or some such part certified or manufactured. Since most of the countries across the world including India, do not have specific regulations for elevators, manufacturers are free to use any kind of hardware and mechanism which may be low cost and may compromise on overall safety.

·       Tip : Home elevators have to be essentially fully certified, not partially , in order to qualify as a safe home elevator.

2.     Power Consumption and Electricity Hazards : When it comes to commercial elevators, they require at least 3 phase of electricity at 220/440v and power consumption between 3.7 to 7.5 KW. However, going by prevailing standards across the world, a home elevator should operate on 220 v single phase power  and should not consume more than 1.5KW of power.

In addition to that a home elevator should never run AC current inside the shaft thus eliminating the chances of fire inside the shaft and of someone getting electrocuted due to loose connections or during a rescue operations.

·       Certified Home elevators run DC current in shaft and all components including the LED bulbs are powered by DC only.

3.     Automatic Rescue Device and Rescue Operation : Most of the commercial elevators require a trained professional for the rescue operation in case someone gets stuck inside the lift. This is because the shafts have AC current and the top of the lift is fixed for electrical components and other machinery. As a norm followed by various certifications agencies, a home elevator should always have a trap door on the top which should be removable without any tools and the rescue operation can be done by anyone.

Statistics show that the automatic rescue systems installed in commercial elevators fail 3 out of 20 times (in case of power failure) resulting in accidents causing injury or death.

·       A certified home elevator should not only have a fail-proof system of stopping the lift in case of power failure or any other error, Ii should also have the functionality of bringing the lift down safely and let the passengers evacuate automatically.

A home elevator should at all times be fitted with a functional landline phone as a standard equipment. It should never be optional or deemed unnecessary.

4.     Child Safe : There are several factors which make a commercial elevator unsafe for children. A few factors are gaps between lift cabin and shaft, absence of perimeter breach device e.g light curtain, high speed movement, irregular landing above or below the floor, jerks on start and stop etc.

Most of the reputed elevator manufacturers keep a disclaimer page on their websites and instruction plates inside their elevators specifying either the restricted age of children or mention that they should be accompanied by an adult.

·       A certified home elevator should have a comprehensive safety system in place to eliminate the above factors and more and also limit the speed to less than 0.20 mts per second. Check with your manufacturer for details on the points above.

5.     Air Flow, Lighting and Anti-Claustrophobic Cabin : When it comes to commercial elevators they are worst places for people who feel suffocated in confined places e.g children, elders, pregnant women or any one with psychological issues. Since these elevators are meant to run at high speed and carry a lot of weight to great heights, their shafts are designed to support the elevator accordingly. The equipment takes up most of the space in the shaft and air flow is restricted. These elevators come fitted with fans on top due to this sole reason.

However, when a home elevator is in question, it does not require such a setup because the travel height is less. Also, a home elevator should always have the option of keeping at least 1 side glass for panoramic view (apart from the entrance). 

Adequate diffused or LED lighting which allows people to see with vision impairment up to 20/70 visual acuity is a must for home elevators.

6.     Components Compatibility : Locally manufactured elevators or uncertified elevators procure different components from various manufacturers and assemble them. They work because the components are made to fit each other forcefully.

Regulations like European codes (EN 81-41 and MD 2006/42/EC)  make it essential for Home elevator manufacturers to manufacture the components themselves or get it from OEM’s after getting the designs and diagrams certified. Only the cosmetic components can be procured locally else the certification fails.  

7.     Standard Ratings : Commercial elevators have the advantage of getting their settings changed to suit the building where they are installed. Depending on the requirement the speed, size, weight capacity, stoppage time, number of floors are altered. Since these alterations are done by engineers on the site they are not reliable at all times and result in malfunction or fatal accidents.

Home elevators are required to follow the defined regulations and cannot flout them just because it can be done. Speed limit of 0.20 m/s, weight capacity of 300-400 kgs max, passenger cap of 5-6 passengers max  are some of the factors followed worldwide for home elevators.

Certified Home Elevator Selection Guide

The list is endless when it comes to factors which define a home elevator. We have tried to simplify it based on the most essential factors. Use the table below for your research and get the best home elevator for safety of your family.

If the standard ratings below are not followed by any manufacturer, rate them 0 on that parameter. If any manufacturer scores between 12-15 points, then it is the best home elevator for you. 

			Fill company names below
Parameter	Standard	Rating
Certification	Fully Certified	1
Power Consumption	<1.5 KW	1
Electricity Phases	1	1
Voltage	220v	1
Landline Phone	Yes	1
No AC current in shaft	Yes	1
Simple rescue process	Yes	1
Trap Door on Top	Yes	1
Child Safe	Yes	1
Glass Door/Glass Sides	Yes	1
In house manufacturing of all components	Yes	1
Speed	< 0.20 m/s	1
Carrying capacity	300~400 kg	1
Service Hours	24x7	1
Lift Life	> 50 years	1
Total		15