While some people may still prefer to take the stairs on occasion, elevators provide a much easier and more convenient way to travel up and down. Whether they’re used in apartment buildings, office complexes, retail malls, or other types of buildings, they also provide a safer means of traveling from floor-to-floor. This is particularly important for individuals with physical limitations, parents with children and pets in-tow, as well as shoppers with both arms full of parcels.

Currently, there are approximately 900,000 elevators in buildings throughout the United States, and it is estimated that each elevator serves an average of 20,000 people every year. Recent figures show that on an annual basis, these elevators provide a collective total of 18 billion passenger rides! Furthermore, United Technologies indicates that the numerical equivalent of the entire world’s population is carried on elevators every 9 days. This is, of course, a staggering figure.

Most elevators within commercial, retail, and/or residential properties have an average rise of 4 to 5 floors. There are 5 basic types of elevators:

• Freight
• Home
• LULA
• Passenger
• Personnel

Passenger elevators, for example, can be either hydraulically or traction-driven. The maximum travel height for hydraulically-driven elevators is 50 feet, while the travel height for traction-driven elevators can exceed 50 feet. Traction-driven elevators are used for medium to high-rise architectural structures.

When compared with escalators, data shows that elevators are 20 times safer. Even though there are 20 times more elevators than escalators in operation, there are just 1/3 more accidents.

It’s interesting to note that it used to take 2 people to operate an elevator: a dispatcher and the actual operator. As soon as navigational buttons were devised, however, this 2-person team was no longer required.

Every year, 10,000 new residential elevators are being installed. Given the prevalence and popularity of high-rise buildings, residential lifts are becoming more necessary.

If you’re currently involved with a construction project, it’s important to consider installing residential lifts. When you install residential lifts, particularly with a medium to high-rise building, it can potentially increase your project’s marketability. Most potential residents, even when they’re physically-fit, do not want to climb up-and-down several flights of stairs every day.

When you contact a residential elevator installation company to discuss your project, you can also ask about residential elevator service, repair, and safety issues. A residential elevator installation company will be able to determine whether you need hydraulic or traction-driven elevators based on your project specifications.

While you still want to have stairs for emergency purposes, the bottom line is that the tenants in your building will be able to travel easily, conveniently, and safely to their flat. Once you are working with a residential elevator installation company, you can inquire about their service contracts in case the elevators are ever in need of repairs.