All About Elevators and Their Types

What is an Elevator?

An elevator is popularly known as a ‘lift’ in India. An elevator carries passengers in a vertical motion. It is used in multistorey commercial buildings and housing societies. Three major types of elevators are Traction elevators (with or without gear), Machine-room-less traction elevators, hydraulic elevators, and vacuum elevators.

What is the Difference Between an Elevator and an Escalator?

Elevators have a structure of a room in which you have the option to select the floor and reach that floor directly. They are generally used in multi-storey buildings such as apartments, banks, hospitals, etc. Escalators are moving stairs that carry the public up or down from one level to another. They are used in malls, metros, airports, railway stations, bus stands, etc. Elevators are more efficient than escalators because, in an escalator, you can move only one or two levels. So, the escalator travels shorter distances. But a lift can take passengers up to 18 floors or more in one go. Though, escalators are suitable for places like shopping malls and smaller buildings where the number of people who need to move up or down a few floors can do that easily. One downside of a lift is that it can carry only a certain number of people simultaneously, but escalators are different.

What are the Types of Elevators?

Earlier, there used to be elevators that could be controlled through a centralised machine room. However, some elevators do not need a machine room because they have their own safety mechanism.

The first one is the traction elevator; this elevator has ropes that pass over a wheel attached to an electric motor, located above the shaft. This rope moves the elevator in an upwards and downward direction. Traction elevators are much faster than hydraulic elevators. The gearless traction elevator can travel 2,000 feet above ground level, i.e. best for skyscrapers. They do not have gears that are required for speed regulation. Whereas the geared traction elevator is made up of a motor that has a gearbox attached to it. Such elevators can move up to the speed of 500 feet per minute.

Hydraulic elevators are subdivided into three types: hole-less hydraulic elevators, conventional hydraulic elevators, and roped hydraulic elevators. A bottom piston gives these elevators support. These elevators work in a way where n electric motor forces hydraulic fluid down the piston. The next type is a machine-room-less elevator which controls the elevator on top of the elevator. The vacuum elevators do not use cables or pulley systems.

Why is the Maintenance of Elevators Essential?

Maintenance and modernisation of elevators are necessary for them to function properly. It ensures that its electromagnetic noise is reduced, which can harm computers and wireless networks. The old elevators or lifts have high chances of malfunctioning, which cause them to cease or break down between the floors. This can be dangerous if someone gets stuck in an elevator and lacks any proper communication source to get out. With timely maintenance of elevators, you can make sure that the chance of breakdown of an elevator is eliminated. By upgrading your elevator according to safety guidelines, you can also cut costs on routine maintenance and change of old parts of the elevator. Also, well-maintained elevators from trusted manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Electric India are far more reliable and power efficient (meaning they use lesser power to function).