So, how does a stairlift work? Stair lifts are great modern devices that make climbing and descending stairs much easier for those with mobility issues. They travel up and down the stairs in your home on a rail. The rail is fixed to the staircase and not the wall, as is often thought to be the case.
Modern stairlifts use a rechargeable battery which is charged from the mains power. In the past, stairlifts have used mains power directly. But a battery is much better in a power cut, which is why they are used nowadays in modern stairlifts.
The batteries in a stairlift are trickle charged from the mains connection. So, in a power outage, they will still operate for several trips before the battery wears down. This also makes stairlifts very cost effective, using only a minimal amount of electrical energy to function.
See also how much does it cost to run a stairlift.
How Does A Stairlift Work – The Stairlift Rail System
Some stairlifts use a chain or a cable to pull the chair up the rail. Other stairlifts use a static rail system which travels up alongside your staircase. The drive system is housed inside the stairlift base and pulls the chair along the rail using a rack and pinion system.
A rack and pinion system uses a circular gear engaging a linear gear (as shown above). Together, they convert a rotational movement into linear motion. In the case of a stairlift, the rack is static and the rotating gear is housed within the chair base. This pulls the chair along the rail, using a rotating mechanism inside the stairlift.
How Does A Stairlift Work – Operation
To operate a stairlift is simple. Most modern stairlifts have a button or joystick on the stairlift armrest. Depending on the specific model of stairlift, you might have either of these options. Press and hold the button in the direction of travel, or the joystick if you have a joystick.
Modern safety features often mean you’ll need to hold down the button. This stops the stairlift immediately if you’re unable to continue holding it, which can help avoid an accident if there’s a problem.
Most modern and advanced stairlifts also have multiple safety features installed. Many of these are housed within the stairlift chair. Should there be an obstacle, for example, which obstructs the path of the stairlift, the lift will sense it through the housing and stop moving.
This is to prevent accidents. The panels on the base of the stairlift have sensors in them which will trigger if there’s contact with an obstruction. If there’s a fall, if a pet gets in the way, or there’s some other problem, the lift will stop.
Types Of Stairlifts – Curved Or Straight
There’s two main types of stairlifts – those which travel in a single plane on a straight rail (straight stairlifts), and those which can travel round corners and curves (curved stairlifts).
Straight stairlifts only go in one direction (up or down), so their drive mechanism is much simpler. It’s also simpler to install a straight stairlift than a curved one because of the simpler rail. So, as you might expect, a straight stairlift is usually much cheaper than a curved stairlift.
Curved stairlifts have more complicated drive mechanisms as they have to navigate a curved rail. Because of this, and often because the installation of a curved rail is more difficult, curved stairlifts tend to cost more to install than straight ones.
See stairlift prices for more details on cost.
Summary
A stairlift works by pulling itself along a railing system which is attached to the staircase using a motorised drive system. This is powered by rechargeable batteries which are connected to the main electricity.
The operation of a stairlift is simple. Just press and hold a button on the arm rest of your stairlift. When working correctly, the stairlift will ascend/descend the stairs at a slow pace. Modern safety features on a stairlift mean that should there be an obstruction, it will stop automatically.
It’s also worth keeping up with the servicing of your stairlift regularly to make sure it’s working to maximum efficiency.