Home elevators are ultra-large machinery installed within homes, destined to coexist with our families for decades—20, 30, or even 50 years. Installing an elevator at home is a significant event, and it's crucial to have a basic understanding of the industry and products before making a purchase. The more you know, the fewer detours you'll take in selecting the right product.
"Residential elevators are simply downsized commercial elevators found in public spaces." The majority of customers that come to ChenAo initially misunderstand residential elevators as merely the "scaled-down" versions of public elevators. But is that the case? Are the smaller versions of large commercial elevators what we desire for our residential elevators? Is it that simple?
Absolutely not! This is a common misconception when selecting residential elevators. The elevator industry is vast, with residential and commercial being two distinct segments. Just like central air conditioning, there are residential and commercial versions. The focus of residential elevator technology significantly differs from that of commercial. For instance, residential elevators place great emphasis on the utilization of the shaft, with lower shaft utilization (similar to the usable space ratio of a house) resulting in smaller car spaces and greater wasted space. Residential elevators have lower requirements for civil engineering, whereas commercial elevators demand more. The specific comparisons are shown in the following diagram:
Through the above comparisons, it becomes crystal clear that residential elevators are far from being a simple downsizing of commercial elevators. Even when downsized, it is limited. If the reserved space at home is smaller, say around 1 square meter, even large-scale commercial elevator manufacturers cannot accommodate this. Compared to commercial elevators, the market for residential elevators is too small, and the production costs are high, which is why large commercial elevator manufacturers are not keen on investing their efforts into this. They merely "do it as a side project." If the dimensions do not meet the requirements, they may放弃 due to "too small, cannot be made," or ask you to dismantle part of the staircase to create more space, which indirectly increases our costs.
Therefore, when ordering a home elevator, it's not about seeking out a well-known, large-scale commercial elevator brand; instead, look for companies that specialize in residential elevators. Professional brands, dedicated to this niche, offer not only products better suited for home use but also comprehensive services. For big brands, even if we purchase ten elevators at home, we are still considered a small customer. However, for professional brands, buying just one elevator is a major client, a VIP customer!
