It's impossible to imagine a modern building today without including a modern elevator among its amenities, a feature and comfort essential for attracting potential clients. The origin of this invention, which allows us to arrive comfortably and quickly, has its own story.
An invention with many years of history
The elevator is a very old invention, although the first known example is much more recent. Specifically, it dates back to 1823, when Burton and Horner devised a way to lift 20 people to a height of about 37 meters inside a box they called the ascending chamber. From this point on, the first real advancements toward what we know today as the elevator began. Following Burton and Horner's initiative, another great visionary physicist, ElishG. Otis, designed emergency brakes for elevators, something without which the invention would not have been successful, as the first sketch was made without any methodology. Initially, he only sold three units.
However, he didn't give up, and in 1854 he gave a demonstration at the Crystal Palace in New York. He got into the elevator and, when he was at a considerable height, told an assistant to cut the rope. Although the audience was terrified, the platform only dropped a few centimeters.
Elisha G. Otis
The first elevator to transport passengers
The first major order Elisha Otis received was for a commercial elevator for the Broadway department store of the E.W. Haughtwhat company in 1857. Sales quickly increased, and with them, Elisha Otis's fame. The elevator in question was steam-powered and could ascend five stories in just over a minute, quite a feat for that time.
A revolution in passenger transport
From then on, everything fell into place. In 1884, the first skyscrapers were built in New York City. Today, the elevator is a fundamental part of urban buildings worldwide and has revolutionized the transportation of goods.
The first elevators were powered by steam engines and were very noisy. Hardly anyone dared to ride them, and people preferred to go up and down the stairs. Then came hydraulic elevators and, finally, electric ones, which solved the problem of speed and accuracy.
The arrival of elevators or passenger lifts brought with it the solution to a major problem, especially for the elderly and those with reduced mobility, as well as those who use wheelchairs. For them, going up or down stairs was a real challenge, and even impossible without assistance.
Types of elevators
The market currently offers a wide variety of elevators. In fact, it's so extensive that you can find different types based on factors such as:
- The location in the building (whether it is outside or inside).
- The type of cabin.
- Machinery and special structure to be used inside homes.
- The type of mechanical drive, among other elements.
When we talk about elevators, we can say that there are two groups of passenger elevators:
- Stairlifts
- Vertical elevators
There are also other more specific types, such as single-family elevators (which are known for their reduced speed compared to others) or short-travel vertical lifts.
Short-rise vertical lifts
They have the characteristic of having, with a height of one meter, an open cabin, which can reach up to about three meters.
Reduced speed elevators
This second type of elevator is more commonly known as a "residential elevator." It's designed for residential use and functions as a freight elevator for a small number of people. While it closely resembles a conventional elevator in appearance, it differs in its maximum travel speed, which is approximately 15 cm per second. It's ideal for ascending or descending up to five or six floors, which explains its popularity in multi-story single-family homes.
Conventional elevators
In third place, we have the most common type of elevator, the conventional elevator. These can easily be found in public buildings, apartment complexes, large hospitals, and other similar structures.
These elevators are perfect for moving across a large number of floors, and are capable of supporting a medium-high volume of passengers.
Sources: Eninter Elevators/netaneta/Ipel
