Escalators or Lifts? Choosing the Best Mobility Solution for Your Establishment

Facilitating enhanced mobility and easier movements across multiple floors, escalators and lifts have become a regular part of the interior design of most establishments. Both offer a lot of ease, especially in multi-storied building, but are distinctly different products. So, if you are planning to implement such mobility solutions into your establishment, remember that the choice between escalators and lifts is one that should be made after due consideration and thought.

Here are some points that you can keep in mind:

Installation

The installation process and the involved costs will not only vary between escalators and lifts but even from one type of lift to the other, depending on the features it has to offer. However, requiring almost the same amount of space as normal stairs, escalators may not be the best option for places where space is at a premium. Even in high-rise buildings, it may not be a feasible option to install escalators to connect every floors. On the other hand, lifts do not require a lot of space and also work well in high-rises.

Operational Efficiency

Lifts and escalators are both adept at getting the job done when it comes to improving mobility within an establishment. However, escalators have the distinct advantage here as their operations make it possible to transport larger groups of people at the same time, and continuously. With lifts, there is always a set capacity that cannot be exceeded and a certain amount of wait time in situations where there is a rush of passengers.

Utility

A benefit that escalators offer is that in case there is a power cut, they can still be used as stairs to move across floors. Earlier, the constant operations of escalators used to be an issue as they led to major power consumption. But today, manufacturers like Mitsubishi Electric India, offer escalators with automatic operations, which use photoelectric posts on the sides of the boarding area that start the escalator when passengers cross them. This helps optimise power consumption as well.

Accessibility

While the escalator may seem to be the better option for those who have claustrophobia or don’t like enclosed spaces, the lift does tend to be more accessible for people who may be in a wheelchair, those who face difficulties in walking or balancing, and those who may have any kind of mobility issues.

Convenience

If there are a lot of heavy goods that need to be transported across different floors, lifts are the more practical choice. But if its about dealing with a heavy footfall, the lift comes with limitations on the number of people that can travel at once, with some of the smaller lifts being unable to carry more than 3-4 people at a time. In heavy traffic areas, this can lead to long wait times, whereas escalators will allow faster mobility.

Installing escalators and lifts at your commercial establishment requires due research and thought, for hassle-free mobility. It is important to keep the required capacity, expected usage, designs, etc. in mind before making the purchase decision. For most commercial establishments however, a combination of escalators and lifts generally works out best, offering visitors the opportunity to choose thein own mode of travel.