Elevators have been in use for centuries, and have come a long way since their early days. Today, there are a variety of types of elevators available, each with its own unique purpose. Let’s take a look at the different types of elevators and their individual purposes and functions.

Residential Elevators

Elevators in a home are typically used for accessing different floors in multi-level homes. Many residential elevator owners have them to increase mobility for disabled or impaired members of the home. These elevators are typically compact and small, and can easily fit into a home’s limited space.

Commercial Elevators

Commercial elevators are typically used for transporting people and materials up and down buildings. These elevators can be found in office buildings, factories, warehouses, and other commercial areas. Commercial elevators typically have a larger capacity than residential elevators, making them more efficient when transporting large amounts of people or materials.

Dumbwaiters

Dumbwaiters are typically used in restaurants and other food-serving establishments. They are compact elevators that serve as a walkway between the kitchen and the dining area. Dumbwaiters are ideal for quickly moving food service staff between stations.

Industrial Elevators

Industrial elevators are generally found in factories and other industrial areas. These elevators are often large and heavy, making them capable of carrying heavier loads than residential or commercial elevators. They’re also commonly used for moving equipment and materials between different levels of a factory or plant.

Service Elevators

Service elevators are typically found in office buildings, hospitals, and other service-oriented areas. These elevators are used to move people between different floors of the building. They’re also commonly used to transport materials between different levels of a building.

Freight Elevators

Freight elevators are most commonly used to move freight between different levels of a warehouse. These elevators are often large and heavy, making them capable of moving large loads quickly and easily.

Passenger Elevators

Whether you’re in a hotel or on a cruise ship, you’re likely to use a passenger elevator. These elevators are used to move people between different floors of a building. They’re also commonly used to transport materials between different levels.

Attraction Elevators

In high-traffic tourist areas,  attraction elevators are often installed to make it easier for visitors to get from one area of the building to another. These elevators are small and compact, making them easy to use. Take the Rockefeller building for example,  which features an attraction elevator that whisks visitors up to the top of the building to take in the views of New York City.

Mining Elevators

Mining elevators are used to move materials up and down mines. Structures like these were more popular a few decades ago when mining was a more physical process. These days, mining elevators are often replaced with more automated systems.

They were made with metal and could only be moved in one direction. Glass elevators were invented in the 1800s and used for a variety of purposes including ventilation and moving goods between floors in a building.

Equipment Elevators

These elevators are used to move heavy equipment between levels on a construction site. They’re usually large and have the capacity for a large number of passengers. Take the construction site elevator at the Pentagon for example. This elevator is so large that it can accommodate an Abrams tank!

In recent years, there’s been a resurgence in the use of attraction elevators. These small, compact machines make it easy for visitors to get around high-traffic areas. They’re also great for moving materials between different floors in a building.

Mechanical Differences In Elevators

Not every elevator is made the same. Depending on what the structure is transporting, its mechanical makeup will vary.

Hydraulic Elevators

Hydraulic elevators use pressurized water to move people and materials up and down. They’re often used in high-rise buildings, where the weight of the elevator and the load can cause problems with other elevators.

Platform Elevators

Platform elevators are a type of elevator that use a platform to move people and materials up and down. They’re often used in factories, where the height of the building and the height of the loading dock allow for this type of elevator to be the most efficient.

Pulley Elevators

Pulley elevators use ropes and pulleys to move people and materials up and down. They’re often used in warehouses and other commercial buildings, where the height of the building and the width of the loading dock allow for this type of elevator to be the most efficient.

Gantry Elevators

Gantry elevators use a pair of long, moving arms to move people and materials up and down. They’re often used in factories and other industrial buildings, where the height of the building and the width of the loading dock allow for this type of elevator to be the most efficient.

Elevators are a convenient and often essential part of our everyday lives. They can be used for a variety of purposes and offer accessibility to wide demographics of people.