September 6 - How the elevator became a home lift ideal for the elderly

Here at Ostrich we like to invite guest writers to discuss issues and topics relating to elderly care. This week, Lachlan Faulkner of Stiltz Lifts talks about the history of lifts, how they evolved from commercial to domestic use, and why home lifts are now the perfect solution for elderly people with mobility problems.

1857: creation of a safe 'elevator'

The world’s first successful passenger elevator was installed at the E.V. Haughwout Building in New York City, USA way back in 1857 by the Otis Elevator Company. It was a five-storey building and housed commercial goods such as glass and silverware.

Elisha Otis was given the task of designing a freight elevator, while working at the Bedstead Manufacturing Company, which could haul the company’s products. Otis had to invent a safety elevator that prevented it from falling if the hoisting cable failed. He came up with a form of a safety brake that meant if the cable snapped, the tension would be released from the spring and it would immediately engage the lift’s rackets which would prevent the platform from falling.

After initially receiving no orders they soon increased when Otis pulled off a great publicity stunt at the 1854 New York’s World Fair a year after opening his own shop by amazing a crowd when he ordered the only rope holding the platform on which he was standing to be cut. Once the rope was severed with an axe the platform fell but only a few inches before coming to a halt.

1880s: electric lifts

Later, in 1870, the Equitable Life Building became the first ‘office’ building to have passenger elevators. German inventor Werner von Siemens, later founder of electrical company Siemens, then produced the first ‘electric’ elevator a decade later.

Frank Spragfue, a former American naval officer, then made a huge impact on the development of the electric elevator by introducing safety and speed features. He later sold his company to the Otis Elevator Company in 1895.

By 1882, hydraulic power technology was being used to power the elevators in London before American Alexander Miles was awarded a patent for an automatically opening and closing elevator door design five years later.

2000s: introducing lifts at home

More than a century on and residential lifts or lifts for the home have become an option, usually for elderly people with mobility problems. Domestic lifts can also help people stay in their homes longer when the stairs become too much and means they do not have to move house.

Stiltz Domestic Lifts

Originally conceived in Australia, Stiltz Lifts introduced the Stiltz domestic lift to the United Kingdom in 2010 and it gained much press and media attention after it was featured as part of the Ideal Home Show’s ‘Home of the Future’ in London the same year.

It is becoming a much favoured alternative to the out-dated and sometimes unreliable stairlift. The benefits of a Stiltz home lift are it carries two people comfortably, takes up much less space, and is more affordable with no expensive service and maintenance costs.

A through-floor lift easy to install

Designed to fit almost anywhere in the home, the Stiltz lift is the first through-floor lift of its kind to be available in this country and is unique as it does not use hydraulics and is extremely quiet.

The lift does not need fixing to walls so there is no major building work required and it is powered by a normal 13-amp power socket via an electric motor drive system that located at the top of the lift car. The Stiltz lift includes a battery back-up facility in case of a powercut, safety pans that ensure nothing is obstructing the lift as it travels and weight limit, out of balance and over speed detection sensors.

The lift can be installed in one day with no planning permission required and if the owners did decide to move house it can uninstalled by Stiltz Lifts and reinstalled at the new property. The Stiltz Home Lifts range includes three types of lift including the standard Duo Lift, the clear Vista Lift that is designed to dissolve into a room’s décor, and the Trio Lift which is wider and deeper and can fit a standard wheelchair.

For more information contact Stiltz Lifts or request a free information pack.