Having a homelift installed is a great way to ensure accessibility to all floors of your home for every member of the family. However, before deciding to purchase a home elevator, there are lots of aspects to consider, from size to cost. But above all, you want to make sure your homelift is safe.
Which safety features should you look for in your homelift?
Modern home elevators are designed and built very much like commercial elevators, adhering to stringent safety protocols and standards. However, like many products and services on the market these days, some companies go above and beyond the basics to provide a higher quality (and usually higher priced) product.
Below, we will explore some of the must-have safety features for a homelift to help you in your decision making.
Emergency Communication System
In the rare event of an emergency while using your home elevator, you want to make sure you have the means to let someone know. Most lifts come equipped with some sort of bell, phone, or intercom system so that family members or emergency services can be notified as quickly as possible. Keep in mind that a dedicated phone line or SIM card may be necessary for the phone to be able to contact a 3rd party outside of the home, but this is something you can discuss with your homelift provider when you get down to the nitty gritty.
Door and Pit Sensors
Unlike commercial elevators, residential lifts are freestanding, meaning the shafts are not built into the walls. Homelifts should always come with sensor and monitoring systems that can detect if there is anything outside the lift in its path, coming to a gentle yet firm stop if anything is detected. Within the lift itself, door sensors ensure that nothing gets trapped as it is closing.
Emergency Power Supply
You should ensure your homelifts comes with backup batteries in case of a power outage. The last thing anyone would want during a power failure would be to be stuck in an elevator, and these backup batteries activate if the usual power supply fails, ensuring the lift remains operational and can take you to your end destination.
Maintenance
Once your lift is purchased and installed, it will need regular checks and maintenance to keep it running safely and smoothly. Many suppliers provide annual maintenance or inspections after a certain number of cycles and may include the first check for free.
Other features to check before you buy
We have already looked at the key safety concerns, but there are often little details that can also make a lot of difference to your comfort as well as safety when using your home elevator. These include:
- having clear, bright lighting in and around the elevator
- large buttons that are illuminated
- non-slip flooring
- appropriate handrail placement for primary users.
Checking out all the safety features before you buy is certainly a must to help you choose the right supplier for your home elevator. Knowing your homelift is safe and reliable will go a long way to giving you peace of mind and keeping your home accessible for many years to come.
