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can cost over £100,000 once VAT has been factored into the equation. Of equal surprise can be the length of time required to design, manufacture and install the lift – with total project times often taking over six months. Generally, if correctly planned, the time during which the lift is out of service is limited to the site works, which can still be up to 12 weeks for a four-floor lift project. However, in the event of having to react to the terminal failure of an existing lift, the manufacturing times alone can often take up to 16 weeks, meaning the possibility of over six months without a lift. Planning for the long term future of the lift within a building can save time and cost in the long run. But there are other benefits to being proactive with lift planning. Having the opportunity to consider the design, condition and requirements of the existing lift will allow all future options to be explored and the most appropriate solution selected. While a complete replacement might often be seen as the ultimate solution to an ageing lift, modern technology is increasingly providing new opportunities to retain and modernise existing lifts. Modernising your lift can be a more cost effective method of increasing the life of your lift, bringing it up to current standards of performance and safety. Undertaking a survey of the existing lift can help establish its exact condition and determine the most appropriate solution for its future serviceability. More importantly, a survey can advise you on the remaining life of your lift to allow you the opportunity to plan for the cost. Employing an independent consultant will ensure that you get the best advice when it comes to planning for the future of your lift. David Pickering MSc MCIBSE is associate director at Ilecs Limited
Ups and downs of looking after your lift
C urrent guidelines suggest the typical operating life for an electric traction lift is 20 years, while it’s 15 for a hydraulic lift. While these are only guidelines from the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), many lifts remain in service long after their expected lifespan. It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that many people do not even consider the future of the lift within their building until it starts to become unreliable. Unfortunately, on many occasions, by the time this occurs the lift itself has reached a point where age and wear are irreversible and reliability becomes a continuous issue. Subsequent costs associated with ongoing repairs can become high, while the risk of a terminal failure of a critical component is increased. Older generation lifts often include components that are less energy efficient, and offer a poorer quality of travel. Many controllers will lack the type of user interface or diagnostic features that are taken as standard on more
current systems. Replacing or modernising your lift can dramatically improve both the performance and the energy efficiency, saving you money in the long run. Modern drive controls allow smoother, more controlled acceleration and travel along with more accurate floor levelling, improving safety as well as performance and energy efficiency. Hydraulic lifts were considered a cheap lift solution for low rise buildings such as apartment blocks during the 80s and 90s. But modernisation of these lifts has often been shunned because of their relatively poor energy efficiency. New developments in hydraulic means for the long term future of your lift, writes David Pickering It pays to think ahead and ensure you have the
pump and valve technology have improved the energy efficiency of hydraulics, with modern systems offering increases of up to 60% in efficiency over their predecessors, making the retention of these designs far more attractive. Along with being more efficient during operation, modern equipment will often feature hibernate modes, which switch off components after a period of non-use. Even lighting can be improved to include more efficient LED type fittings where these were once fluorescent or tungsten types. Choosing the right time to modernise or replace a lift is not an exact science but it pays to at least put in place the means to address the long term future of your lift at an early stage. Lifts wear and age differently depending upon the quality of the original equipment, intensity of use and the quality of maintenance regime in place. The cost of any modernisation or replacement project may come as a shock to some. A typical four-floor installation, inclusive of all associated works,
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