Sales Office: 01206 803 132

November 2022

Escalators vs Lifts: The pros and cons of each

Most people know the main differences of both escalators and lifts but there is so much more to both machines than meets the eye.

Escalators are essentially moving stairs that allow the public to move up or down between different levels of a building. 

Pros

– [ ] Easy moving stairs 

– [ ] Open stairs – this can be a pro for some and a con for others. 

– [ ] Carry 20+ people at any one time 

Cons

– [ ] Difficulty for mobility issues to use these 

– [ ] Constant use of electricity 

– [ ] Difficult to relocate once installed 

– [ ] Can only go up one floor per escalator 

– [ ] More visible to the public eye

– [ ] Take up a lot of space to move between floors

Platform lifts can be a variety of things however, it is always something that is on a moving platform that easily moves the public from one floor to another.  

Pros 

– [ ] Only uses electricity when in use which is not continuous 

– [ ] One lift can go up and down more than 1 floor

– [ ] Enclosed space – this can be a pro for some and a con for others. 

Cons 

– [ ] Can only carry a few people at a time depending on maximum occupancy 

– [ ] Can require an entire machine room to control the elevator 

Cabin lifts can also be referred to as elevators depending on the person and where they come from. 

The main difference between the two is one offers mobility access for all and the other unfortunately doesn’t. This will impact your business depending on the needs of the business and if accessibility is a factor then platform lift for disabled or home elevators for disabled people are better. 

It depends on what you need the most and how much space and time you have for either of these moving platforms. If your needs are for domestic elevators that can transport a smaller amount of people but use less overall room in the building then a lift is the most likely choice, but if you are a shopping mall or businesses similar to you will likely need an escalator to move multiple people at the same time and will likely have more space and capacity for the larger area needed by an escalator. 

Speak to an expert today and discover what is best for your business.

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For more information please call us on 01206 803 132 or by emailing sales@al-platformlifts.co.uk.
Alliance Platform Lifts are dedicated to proving our customers with high quality, exceptional and reliable platform lifts, cabin lifts ad goods lifts, with cost-effective support for life.