What Type of Elevator Motor is Best Fit to Your Need?
Elevator technology is so improved from the Archimedes era when the first known elevator has been built. After the industrial revolution, the structures grew higher and the technology has adapted according to this progress. Today, longer and longer buildings are being constructed and elevators became one of the most important parts of today’s world.
With the progress of construction technology, elevator technology is being improved too. Elevators are obliged to reach higher, climb faster, be quieter, and be more comfortable. To achieve these goals, elevator types are also evolved. One of the main issues of today’s builders is to choose the best type of elevator that fits their needs.
So which type of elevator should we choose? Today, there are mainly two types of elevators:
- Traction (Geared or Gearless Type) Elevators
- Hydraulic (Holed or Holeless Type) Elevators
A regular person normally can’t easily understand what type of elevator is used. The main difference between them; traction elevators are the most common ones on which steel ropes are used to lift the cabin while hydraulic elevators are powered by a piston that travels inside a cylinder. Today we’re going to talk about elevator motors and these are the three most known types of elevator motors:
- AC/DC motors
- Diesel/gasoline-powered motors
- Pneumatic/hydraulic motors
Different necessities require different solutions. A good elevator should:
- Encounter the defined capacity,
- Be used easily and comfortably,
- Be efficient and economical,
- Not disturb the users while accelerating and decelerating,
- Consume less electricity/gasoline,
- Be easy and cheap for maintenance.
The more these specifications are met, the better the elevator is chosen. Now we will discuss the types of elevators and what kind of elevator motor is best fit for your needs.
Geared Traction Elevator Motors
Geared traction elevator can be defined as an elevator that has a gearbox attached to the geared elevator motor which controls the wheel that moves the rope. The advantage of a geared elevator is that it necessitates a less powerful motor for turning the wheel. Traction elevators are powered by AC or DC electric motors. A counterweight is used to offset the load of the cabin and users, which makes the elevator more efficient because the motor doesn’t have to hoist the real burden.
A geared traction machine elevator is preferred for mid and high-rise structures and is faster than hydraulic elevators. Geared elevators can be used up to 75 m in height and can speed up to 1,60 m per second. One of the distinctive specialties of geared traction elevators is that they necessitate a machine room. Geared elevator machine must be placed above the shaft so there should be a machine room at the top of the elevator system. The machine room should be drought, well lighted and air-conditioned. The temperature of the room should be between 5-40 °C. Machine rooms have a notable size and should be planned and considered in structure plans. These rooms are inert places and mostly present difficulties to architects. They mostly don’t fit the architectural spirit of structures and stand like a pustule at structures. So the machine room is a disadvantage of a geared traction elevator.
When we consider geared vs. gearless elevators, which one to geared traction elevators is the losing side. Geared ones have bigger motors, less capacity, are noisier, less comfortable, more expensive for maintenance, less efficient for electricity consumption, and necessitate of a room for the machine. The biggest advantage and reason to be chosen is the cost of establishment. It’s cheaper to establish a geared traction elevator when considered to gearless ones. So it is advantageous to the constructor that can make the geared motor preferred.
All types of elevators have positive and negative sides when compared to themselves. Also, the positive sides may vary according to your needs when you consider which elevator motor is the best fit for you. For example, if you need an industrialized elevator and have to lift so heavy items, you can’t choose a residential elevator and you don’t care about efficiency that much. So you should define your needs carefully and make the best choice that fits you. ISF Elevator Company and its experienced personnel are ready to help you with the best decision that fits your needs. Our personnel will easily understand your needs, prepare the best alternatives, and will guide you to the best choices with the best prices.

ISF Elevator – Content Producer