What is a home lift?
• A lift that is designed specifically for a private residence
• Otherwise known as a residential lift or elevator
Target market for a home lift?
Over-50s adults are the target audience for a Home lift. The following facts highlight why:
• They account for 43% of all adults• Made up of 21.6 million adults, and set to increase to
25 million by 2020• 17,576 people turn 50 every week• They have a collective pot of £175 billion of disposable
income, which is greater than any other age group• 85% have private pensions and possess 80% of all
private wealth
Reasons for fitting a home lift• To future proof your property
• To avoid extensive renovation or relocation if the stairs become too much
• A more attractive solution to a stair lift
• Transporting the shopping, vacuum cleaner, laundry, iron & ironing board etc.
• They make life easier…
• Walk in baths, easy rise chairs, Home lift?
Why are home lifts becoming more popular?
• They allow you to live independently in your own home for longer
• A home lift is a high end alternative to a stair lift
• People tend to stay in their homes for longer rather than move to a retirement village or bungalow
• Developers & house builders are recognising the need to design & build new homes to the Lifetime Homes Design Criteria www.lifetimehomes.org.uk
• Thanks to innovation in design, certain types of home lifts offer a real and practical solution
Important factors to consider when selecting the right home lift:
• How many floors does it need to serve?
• How much space is available for the lift?
• Where could the lift be located?
• Which type of lift should I choose?• Passenger Lift• Residential Elevator• Small space-saving platform lift• Through the floor lift
Passenger Lift
• Suitable for multi floors
• This type of lift needs a shaft so more space is required
• High building costs
• Fire doors required if going through a floor
• Benefits• Speed of travel
• Automatic car & landing doors
Residential Lift
• Suitable for 2 to 4 floors
• Similar to a passenger lift but smaller, no car door required, just light curtain
• Lift shaft required with less building work therefore lower cost
• Fire protection required if going through a floor
• Slow speed
Platform Homelift
• Suitable for 2 to 4 floors
• More compact than a passenger lift or a residential elevator, lower cost
• Fire protection required if going through a floor
• Slow speed
Through floor lift
• Suitable for 2 floors only
• No lift shaft required
• Compact & space saving
• Minimal building work
• No structural alterations to the property
• Fire protection should be standard
• Lowest cost on a like for like basis.
Advantages of a space-saving through floor Homelift
• Cost effective option
• Small footprint meaning it can be installed almost anywhere in your home
• You can send it away from the room after use, giving you the full use of your living space
• Building costs are kept to a minimum
• Self-supporting structure means there is no lift shaft and there will be no major structural alterations to your home
• There are different drives available; the most popular is Hydraulic which ensuring a smooth, quiet ride
Research the company you are buying from
• Do they have a lot of experience in the UK home lift market and do they have good reputation?
• Where is the product manufactured? This is important as you need to know that you can get spare parts for up to 10 years
• What kind of warranty is offered?
• Do they have a network of engineers to provide service and breakdown support?
• Are they a member of the Lift and Escalator Industry Association (LEIA)?
Important considerations before making your decision
• Building Control Approval
• Fire Protection
• EU or British Standards
• Price versus value