Components of a Home Elevator You Should Know About

Because of its utility benefits, a home elevator attracts a good number of homeowners to it. People who want to get a home elevator installed in their homes, are often found intrigued about the process of its installation, how it works, its components and much else. Whether it is about installing a home elevator during the construction phase of a home or later in time, there are a few main components of a residential elevator. These are the hoistway, the machine room, its structure and elevator car. Here, we will be discussing in details about these four parts of a home elevator:

1. Home Elevator Hoistway

A home elevator connects different floors inside a home together, providing ease of mobility. To function properly, it needs a vertical hallway within the home in which it will move up and down as required. This hallway or shaft is commonly called the hoistway of a home elevator. At the bottom of the hoistway, usually lies a pit which supports the lowest landing of the home elevator. The vertical distance to be covered by the elevator to reach from the lowest level to the uppermost floor has to be adequately maintained for it to function properly. This distance is also known as overhead. One should also know that this hoistway should be structurally strong to support its weight. Alongside, some other internal forces will exist in the hoistway as the elevator function, which should also be kept in mind. This is one reason why hoistway inspection is done prior to the home elevator installation.

2. Machine Room

The functional parts of a home elevator are installed in a separate room, which is called its machine room. It has control box, hydraulic tank, motor, cables and similar other components installed in it. Unlike a big room as the name may suggest, a machine room is typically a space three feet wide or four feet deep approximately. In some cases, the type of home elevator to be installed does not require a machine room to place certain components. This is the reason why it is called Machine Room Less (MRL) elevators. The placement of motor and controller is done mostly at the top of the hoistway.

3. Supporting Structure

It is the component on which the elevator travels up and down across the hoistway. It is anchored to a wall in the shaft, and has guide rails, counterweight system and some mechanical devices as a part of it. It is from this supporting structure that the elevator gets power to work, and functional stability.

4. Elevator Car

It is that part of the elevator which is visible to the users, and is used by them. It can also be considered as the final part of the elevator, and is mostly customized as per the preference of the home owners. Its design and appearance is chosen by them, whether it is simple or classic design. The car is what moves up and down using the pulley system and counterweights, to make users reach to different floors of a building.

Expert Advices:

-          For people who want to get a home elevator installed in their homes, it is important to know about its parts, as detailed above. But next to it, they should also think about choosing the right place where the elevator is to be installed. It should fit into your existing home well enough, or should improve the final appeal of your home that is under construction phase. -          If you hadn’t ever get an elevator installed, you may feel the elevator installation process to be complicated. But if you are ready to get it done in your home, you should hire a professional home elevator installer for it. This will not only ensure high quality work done, but also prevents frequent functional problems from occurring. -          Alongside, it is important to ask the hired elevator installer about the available types of home elevators, and about the right choice to be made. He will inspect your home to look for the available space for elevator installation, and then suggest you the right elevator type. If needed, you will be recommended to have a custom elevator installed in your home.