BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT LIFTS

1. Lift definition
2. Basic dimensions
3. Nominal load (dependence of the lifting capacity on number of transported passengers)
4. Lifts classification depending on drives
5. Important lift elements
6. Lifts classification depending on use
7. Engine room
8. Shaft
9. Cabin
10. Doors
11. Standard doors
12. Non-standard doors
13. Lifts intended for new buildings
14. Lifts intended for existing buildings
15. Lifts for disabled persons
16. Other lift essential features:
 ratio
 collection
 reaction to electricity failure
 operation in group
17. Force on the cabin’s sill Fs
18. Comparison of traction elevators with hydraulic ones - advantages/disadvantages
19. Noise emission
20. Lift’s weight

1. Lift definition
A lift is a system permanently installed that serves for vertical (or in the direction smaller
than 15% from perpendicular) transport of persons or goods in lift cars or on platforms.
2. Basic dimensions
 Headroom: a part of the shaft between the level of the highest stop and the shaft’s
ceiling.
Travel: the length of the cabin’s travel between level of the lowest and the highest stop.
Pit: a part of the shaft below level of the lowest stop.
Total shaft height Hs

Hs = Pit + Travel + Overhead

Note: dimensions concern the finished stop floors.

3. Rated load
It is a load in kg that has been assumed for the drive calculations. The calculative load is
the value that has been assumed for strength calculations of key bearing elements and
usually it is the weight of maximum number of persons who a lift holds on a lift car
defined area. There is a close relation between the load, a maximum number of persons
and the area. For example, the load of 630 kg is the number of maximum 8 persons that
is limited by the lift cabin area equal to 1,54 m2 (1,1 x 1,4 m). In case of passenger lifts
the nominal load is equal to the calculative load whereas in case of goods lifts it is
 admissible to reduce the nominal load in relation to the calculative one resulting from the
lift cabin area. For more information see EN 81-1/-2 standards.
4. Lifts classification depending on drive

Hydraulic lifts : the lift drive unit is composed of a tank, a hydraulic

pump and an electric motor and starts a piston that through a direct ratio of 1:1 or
through an indirect one of 1:2 (a rope pulley and ropes) drives the lift cabin.

1:1
 Lift with a central piston

Lift with a lateral piston

1:1 (with technology GMV SWEDEN AB TM

1:1)
GPL® Goods-passenger lifts
with 2 pistons type EC
 GPL® Goods-passenger lifts
with 4 pistons type EC

1:2 (with indirect roped drive)

Lift with 1 piston
 Goods-passenger lifts with 2 pistons

(solution not recommended by GMV )

The hydraulic lift’s machine room is not adjacent to the shaft and can be located in a
distance from zero to several or even a dozen of meters from the shaft. Most frequently it
is a free standing cabinet (so called machinery cabinet) or a separate room (a traditional
machine room). There also exist hydraulic lifts without a machine room with a drive
situated in the pit.

Traction lifts : the lift drive unit that is composed of an electric

motor and a friction wheel coupled with it, drives the ropes connected with the lift car
frame and a counterweight. There is distinguished a direct drive of 1:1 and an indirect
one of 2:1 and 4:1 used in traction goods-passenger lifts.
1:1

2:1
4:1
 Traction g
wit
(solution no

GMV

Traction lifts występują w dwóch podstawowych odmianach: z górną maszynownią

(pomieszczenie bezpośrednio nad stropem szybu) i bez maszynowni (zespół napędowy
mieści się w szybie).

5. Essential lift components:

Cabin: a lift unit designed for transportation of persons and/or

goods.
Shaft: a space in which the lift cabin moves. The space is as a rule housed with pit
bottom, walls and ceiling.
Machine room: a room in which the drive unit (or units) and the connected equipment
 are situated, e.g. control elements.
Drive unit: a unit that contains motor that drives a lift. In traction lifts it is so called
traction machine and in hydraulic ones it is a set with a motor, pump and valve block.
T-guides: rigid elements that secure guiding of a car frame and a cabin.
Car frame: a rigid construction that holds the car and travels in the guides.
Counterweight: a separately guided mass that partly counterbalances the cabin and
secures ropes pressure to a driving pulley.
Controller: a unit that controls the lift travel.
Piston: a lift component that uses a working medium for a plane motion. The piston is
composed of a cylinder and a ram. There are also single or multistage pistons so called
telescopic.
6. Lifts classification depending on application:

Passenger lifts - serve for transportation of persons.

Hospital lifts - are designed for transportation of persons and hospital beds together
with medical equipment and personnel. They are characterized by accurate minimum
cabin dimensions and door width as well as some functions such as “privileged

travel”.
Vehicle lifts - are designed for transportation of vehicles. They are characterized by

accurate minimum cabin dimensions and door width.

Goods-Passenger lifts - are designed for transport of goods and persons accompanying

the goods.
Goods lifts - is a group of lifts without a right to enter for persons. It is obtained by strict
restrictions regarding the usage or by reduction of car dimensions (so called “small goods
lifts”).
7. Machine room
Special room - accessible only for the authorized persons - which contains the lift drive
unit and equipment related to it, e.g. lift controller.
8. Shaft
The shaft means the space in which a lift car moves. The shaft has usually a pit, walls and
 a ceiling. Depending on the lift type, in the shaft can be situated a drive unit, a
counterweight and controller.

9. Cabin
A lift’s unit serving for safe transportation of persons and/or goods.
1-opening - a cabin with a single entrance.
2-opening - a cabin with 2 opposite entrances.

Angle cabin - a cabin with 2 entrances situated at an angle of 90°.

Three-entrance cabin - a cabin with 3 entrances.

10. Doors
Lift doors are divided into landing (shaft) doors and cabin ones. The doors exist in two
basic variants: central and telescopic (two or multipanel).

Central door - during opening / closing, the panels move in opposite directions.

Telescopic door - during opening / closing, the panels move in the same direction.
 Telescopic door right - during opening the panels move to the right side

Telescopic door left - during opening the panels move to the left side

Swing doors - operated manually and are no longer used in newly designed lifts.
11. Standard lifts
These are lifts of repeatable components and the shaft horizontal dimensions (width x
length), and differ only in the number of stops and travel height. Thanks to the above
fact, architects have easier task during a shaft designing and the risk of error is reduced.
12. Non-standard lifts TML
(Tailor Made Lift). These are lifts of unrepeatable features and that is why they are
designed individually to a given order. For example, lifts in existing shafts of atypical
dimensions, panoramic with glass cars or lifts with 2 entrances to a car at an angle of
90o and even of 3 ones.
13. Lifts designed for new buildings
The lifts of full dimensions of shaft, pit and headroom.
14. Lifts designed for existing buildings
Considering the shaft’s existing environment it is admissible to reduce the pit or the
 headroom, however with use of additional safety devices for lift fitters and maintenance
technicians. For more information consult EN 81-21 standard.
15. Lifts for disabled persons
The building regulations require adaptation of passenger lifts for disabled persons. The
basic requirements are minimum car dimensions (width x length) 1,1 m x 1,4 m, the door
width of 0,9 m, push buttons marked with the Braille alphabet and voice information.

Detailed requirements are defined in EN 81-70 standard.

16. Other essential lift features:
Ratio - is a basic parameter of a lift drive unit that enables increasing/decreasing of input
speed in order to increase the torque / linear range of a lift operation. The higher ratio is
the higher cabin’s sensitivity to instantaneous load. While in passenger lifts it is not so
essential because a person entering the cabin is of 75 kg of average, in goods-passenger
lifts it is very important. A forklift entering a cabin can load the floor with a force even of
several tons and that is why it the hydraulic drives of 1:1 ratio is highly recommended.
That means the direct supporting the cabin by pistons in order to obtain exceptionally
stable floor during the loading. The hydraulic lifts of 1:2 ratio and traction ones of ratios
from 2:1 up to even 4:1 are characterized by considerably worse stability during entering
/ exiting of passengers and particularly bad during loading with heavy goods.
Collective function - enables storing of a lift call commands in a memory by users and
their execution by picking up the passengers going in the same direction. In multi-family
apartment buildings a collective down is used (a lift picks up passengers going to a
ground level) while in office buildings a collective up/down is usually applied. During
going up a lift picks up successively passengers who want to go to higher floors while
when going down it picks up persons who want to go to lower floors.
Reaction to electricity failure - in case of electricity failure (blackout) a lift should
reach a nearest or lowest stop and open doors automatically to free passengers.
Unfortunately, most of manufacturers use this solution as an option at high extra charge.
Operation in group - lifts that are located in a close neighborhood should operate in a
group and a call regards one lift – that one which is closer to a calling person.
17. Force on the cabin’s sill Fs
The cabin is a moving unit of a lift, which is loaded by persons or goods. The most
unfavorable situations occurs at a time when on the sill of empty cabin appears a force Fs.
The design of key structure elements should be strong enough to withstand forces and
torques (Ts). Standards EN 81-1 and EN 81-2 recommend the use for the calculations
the following values depending on the capacity Q:
Lifts with a load of less th

F = 0,4 • Q
s

For example: the minimu

Q = 1000 kg equals to F s
Lifts with a load of equal
passenger ones suitable fo

F = 0,6 • Q
s
Vehicle lifts

F = 0,6 • Q (by GMV)

s
 Lifts with a load of equal
ones suitable for loading

F = 0,85 • Q
s

For example, a goods-pas

for loading by fork-lifts s
cabin’s sill not lower than

Note: despite above requirements included in the lift standard, many manufacturers are
not able to provide lifts with the right force values on the cabin’s sill. One should pay
particular attention to it at the stage of selecting the right solution.

18. Comparison of hydraulic lifts with traction ones - advantages/disadvantages

Feature/function Hydraulic lifts

The shaft is material-saving with minimum one The

reinforced concrete wall. Main forces are hold
Shaft
concentrated on the pit bottom. The shaft trad
dilatation is not required even in apartment and
 buildings. Small dimensions in relation to the apar
car. reco
the c

Com
Simple. Small number of parts - including
inclu
rotating parts. No counterweight. Low lift
Construction bear
weight: 40-60% lower than lifts without engine
carr
rooms.
to th

Purchase cost Lower by approx. 20-30% for a 2-5 stops lift. Rela

Exceptionally quick, safe, uncomplicated and

cheap installation. Efficient repair and
replacement of components. Com
qual
Installation / operation
than
Watch the video
repa

High
Operating costs Low maintenance and spare part costs.
spar

Speed Usually 0,63 m/s. High

Lift durability Long life, approx. 2 times longer. Lon

Connection of power Approx. 2 times higher. Seve

High
Comparable or lower. A hydraulic lift goes
coun
down with switched off main engine. During
Electric energy consumption (em
the lift stop the energy is consumed by the car
ener
main lighting.
(so c

Reaction to power failure Load < 2.000 kg Loa

Travel to the lowest stop by gravity and door Trav
opening. A low-capacity battery required e.g. devi
7Ah. Battery which supports the voltage in the chec
electronic control unit is fully sufficient.

Load 2.000 – 12.500 kg Loa

Travel to the lowest stop by gravity is Req
supported by the 7Ah battery. To open large pow
and heavy doors an UPS of 600 - 1000 VA is
sufficient.
Com
Easy release of passengers in case of the relea
emergency power system failure. pow

Safety High. Med

 No massive units above the car. insta
The machine room is usually separated, far tecto
from the lift working units. cons
elem
mac
repo
prot

The
The shaft does not usually contain drive units. shaf
Noise emission Noise is emitted in a closed engine room far thro
from the rooms in which people stay. both
all d

Environment friendly. Exceptionally material- The

saving shafs and the lift low weight as well as mac
small number of parts - means lower energy part
needed for production. Hydraulic fluid prod
Ecology
undergoes 100% recycling after 5-10 years of calle
operation. ener
the p
nega
19.

20. EcoGMV

21. Noise emission

Every lift system emits noise during operation. However, use of a suitable lift type, the
shaft correct construction and its location can considerably reduce noise emission in a
building and inconvenience for the people staying in.
Hydraulic lifts are characterized by low noise level thanks to the drive unit location
(power unit) outside the shaft: in a prefabricated engine room or in a separate room. It is
worth to pay attention that the drive works only during going up. Going down is executed
by the gravity force with the power unit off.
Traction MRL-type lifts without a machine room have drive in the shaft. This makes
the noise emission going easier through the building. To reduce the noise inconvenience,
the lift shafts are separated from the apartments with additional shaft concrete walls
(dilatation) or the lifts are located in the central part of a staircase. Both methods waste a
building internal space and require an additional energy-consuming heavy concrete
construction.
Travel up
Travel down
 Hydraulic lift with typically located power unit.

Travel up / down

MRL-traction lift without machine room and power unit located inside the
shaft.
22. Lift’s weight
A very important parameter for designers and constructors. Greater weight means robust
shaft’s construction and solid foundations as well as it has a bigger negative impact on the

environment.
Electric lifts can be up to twice heavier than the comparable hydraulic ones.

WEIGHT COMPARISON OF LIFTS READY TO DISPATCH FROM THE FACTORY

Hp = 10 m, 4 stops