Since the early days of a two-man team, dispatcher and operator, commercial elevators have had major advances to their technology. Gone are the days of man-operated commercial elevators in favor of an advancement in navigational buttons; their jobs now obsolete and extinct.
There are several different kinds of elevators, each with their own size and maximum capacity. However, there are only five that are used more often than others: passenger, freight, LULA, home and personnel.
Passenger elevators give their name away for their usage right away. Their primary function is to carry passengers. Their size and capacity is based on its intended use. With the advancements in hydraulics, passenger elevators can travel at a maximum height of 50 feet, the same can be said for traction-driven passenger elevators.
Freight elevators are typically not used for as a commercial elevator. Instead, freight elevators primarily function like a big cart, carrying goods from one location to the next. Their size and capacity, typically capable of carrying much more than its counterparts, is also determined for the job they were built for. However, it is not outside the realm of possibility for a freight elevator to be used to transfer a few people. Freight elevators will state whether or not they are to be used as a commercial elevator.
Limited-use, limited-application elevators, also known alternatively by its acronym LU/LA, are elevators that are not meant to be for constant use but rather more personal. Their use is meant to be strictly used by the handicapped.
Home elevators, or residential lifts, are usually designed for no more than two people and very small compared to an average commercial elevator, however, they still have access to the same safety measures as your average elevator. Where as personnel elevators are just that, elevators specifically used for the working class.
Since the installation of the first commercial elevators, advancements in technology have continuously made elevators safer. When the United States is estimated to harbor 900,000 elevators and transfer 20,000 people annually, elevators do not have room to make errors. In fact, elevators are now 20 times more safer than your average escalator. Even though elevators outnumber escalated 20 times over, escalators experience one-third more accidents.
If you are looking to install residential lifts or commercial elevator installation, be sure to find a quality elevator company near you.