The humble lift, one of humankind’s greatest inventions, saves our legs from having to traverse treacherous flights of stairs in a fraction of the time. From hotels to office buildings, hospitals to multi-story car parks, lifts are everywhere nowadays thanks to their undeniable practicality.
Despite this, some people can be wary of lifts and have certain concerns due to a number of myths that have been spread by word of mouth and popular media. In this article, we are going to debunk those myths, highlighting what are facts and what’s fiction when it comes to ‘lift-lore’, as it were.
Read on below to find out more.
1 | Overcrowded Lifts Will Fall
Fiction:
Since there is often a weight restriction that is displayed inside a lift along with an average maximum number of people that should be allowed on to adhere to this, many people believe that if a lift is overcrowded and exceeds this maximum, then it will not be able to cope with the additional weight.
Consequently, some people also believe that the lift then has the potential to fall as a result - which partly ties into the myth we’ll go on to discuss after this, whereby people assume a lift is held up by a single rope.
Fact:
In reality, the notion that a lift could fall down the shaft couldn’t be farther from the truth. Modern technology can do wondrous things, and that includes the safety technology in lifts; rather than falling, a lift can detect when it has been overloaded and instead will simply just stay still in its place and not move until enough people have left the lift.
If you are ever in this scenario, then it is far more likely that the doors will stay open and a buzzer may possibly ring, rather than the lift freefalling.
2 | Lifts Are Held Up by a Single Rope
Fiction:
As we previously mentioned, it is a commonly held belief that lifts are held up by a single rope or cable. When this belief is adopted, it leads to concern that should this begin to wear or be overloaded with weight (which you now know is not a cause for concern) then this will eventually break, resulting in the lift falling.
Fact:
Firstly, lifts are not held up by a single cable, and certainly not rope at that, but by multiple steel cables, so even if one of these were to break for some reason, which is highly unlikely, then there would still be other cables holding the lift up. Next, each of these steel cables has the strength and lifting ability to hold up a fully loaded car - so they certainly don’t struggle to hold up a loaded lift!
Even in the extremely unlikely event that all the cables were to break, there are other safety features that are put into place to prevent it from falling, such as the speed gauge, which would detect if the lift was going too fast and activate safety braking devices to stop the lift.
3 | If Stuck, You Should Escape Into the Shaft
Fiction:
It is possible that you’ve watched a film or TV show before whereby people have been stuck in a lift and have either decided to or been told to escape out the safety hatch at the top of the lift into the shaft, so that they can be rescued. Scenes such as these have led people to believe that A, there is an accessible safety hatch at the top of lifts and B, that this is what they should do in an emergency situation when they’re stuck.
Fact:
This one is only partly true; most lifts do indeed have an emergency escape hatch, however these are locked from the outside and cannot be accessed from the inside. They are there for the most extreme of occasions when people need to be rescued from a lift by the emergency services when the lift itself cannot be fixed with them inside.
Since these cannot be opened from inside the lift, attempting to evacuate a lift through the escape hatch not only wouldn’t work, but is not what you should do in such a scenario. If you are in a lift and it stops or breaks down, leaving you trapped, then you should press the alarm button. This will connect you to the operator, who will be able to help and get the lift working again or contacting a rescue team if need be.
4 | Pressing the Button Multiple Times Will Make the Lift Come Faster
Fiction:
Have you ever pushed the button to call for a lift and it’s taking its time to arrive, so you press the button again in hopes that it will get there faster? You wouldn’t be the only one, many others do the same - some even press the button repeatedly hoping that it will prioritise the floor they’re on.
Fact:
We’re sorry to say that this one isn’t true. Though it may feel as though you’re doing something to speed up the lift, in reality it only takes a single push of the button to call the lift and kick it into action, after which the software will determine the lift's route and stick to it, regardless of how many times you press the button.
Remember, if there are people who are already on the lift and are wanting to stop on a different floor to you, then the lift must finish this journey first as whichever button they have pressed will take priority in its route (unless they’re stopping on your floor on the way) before it the responds to your call and makes its way to your floor.
5 | Pressing the Alarm Button Will Stop the Lift
Fiction:
You may have noticed on telly that, in some shows, people will enter a lift then press an emergency stop button, whether that’s to talk or take a moment of privacy, before carrying on their journey as usual. This has led to the belief that pressing the alarm button in a lift will cause it to stop in its tracks until you let go.
Fact:
So, is there a mystery stop button in a lift? We’re afraid not. Some old lifts used to have this button, though it would sound an alarm when pressed, so it wasn’t something you could press inconspicuously just to prolong a private chat. Nowadays, most modern lifts do not feature such a button, rather they simply have an alarm button that instead will connect you to the operator, who would find out what the issue is and take the necessary action in an emergency situation.
6 | Lifts Cannot Use Energy Sustainably
We haven’t included a ‘fact’ and ‘fiction’ separation for this one, because this myth isn’t mutually exclusive with all modern lifts. Whilst it could indeed be argued that lifts are unsustainable in their energy use, due to constantly running, having an operation room with excessive technological features and harsh, halogen lighting, this isn’t the case for all lifts and certainly doesn’t resonate with the future of lift design.
Many companies, such as ADL Lift Services, are now starting to make
eco lifts, which are made to save energy in multiple ways. For example, these use control systems with a microprocessor and something known as CAN (Control Area Network) technology, which are extremely efficient and can be energy-saving. When the lift brakes, for example, it will generate electricity and feed this back into the electricity grid, rather than this energy being wasted.
Eco lifts also power down into a standby mode when not in use, so that only the key elements are in use at all times while the rest will only come on when the lift is called, thus saving power and money. As for lighting, instead of using halogen lighting, LEDs are used instead, since they give the same level of brightness whilst reducing energy consumption by up to 80%.
ADL Lift Services
Do you live in Scotland and are looking to have a lift installed in your building? If so, then you need ADL Lift Services.
We are committed to delivering continued quality service to all our customers across the country, both manufacturing and installing industry-leading commercial lifts with the help of our qualified and experienced staff, and we are proud to say that we are considered one of the leading lift manufacturers in Scotland.
Whether you need a lift installation or lift maintenance,
get in touch with us today for more information on our services.
