Choosing between a gearless traction home lift and a hydraulic home lift starts with the building and its users. Both technologies can serve residential applications, but their equipment arrangements and maintenance requirements differ. The useful comparison is between two complete proposals for your home, including construction work and local service.
What is the difference?
A typical traction lift uses a drive machine and suspension system to move the car, often with a counterweight. A gearless design removes the reduction gearbox from the traction machine. A hydraulic lift uses pressurised fluid and a cylinder arrangement to move the car. Equipment location, travel limits and space requirements depend on the model.
Machine-room-less describes an equipment layout. It does not automatically mean a lift needs no pit, no overhead clearance or no service access. Check the proposed drawings for each of these dimensions separately.
Compare the complete building footprint
- Cabin size and clear door opening for the intended users.
- Shaft or enclosure dimensions at every floor.
- Pit depth and overhead clearance.
- Locations of machinery, controls and any separate equipment room.
- Landing circulation, structural interfaces and maintenance access.
A smaller cabin does not necessarily produce the simplest building work. For an existing home, ask the architect and supplier to compare suitable locations before choosing a drive type.
Review energy use and ride comfort
Request an energy estimate using the same daily trips, travel distances, load assumptions and standby hours for both proposals. A home lift may spend much of the day idle, so operating power alone is not a sufficient comparison. Ask what the estimate includes, whether a regenerative drive is offered and how any savings were calculated.
Ride comfort also depends on controls, installation and adjustment. If possible, visit a comparable installation and assess starting, stopping, levelling, door operation and noise. A manufacturer’s general technology description cannot establish the result in your building.
Compare service arrangements and total scope
Ask which local organisation will install and maintain the offered equipment. Compare planned visits, fault response arrangements, spare parts, warranty exclusions and the cost of work outside the service contract. Hydraulic proposals should address fluid-system maintenance; traction proposals should address the specified drive and suspension components.
For a technology example, Savaria describes its Infinity residential elevator as hydraulic. Its published arrangements apply to that product, not to every hydraulic lift or to FUJIHD equipment.
Preparing a FUJIHD enquiry
Review the FUJI lift solutions guide and FUJI-FHV-iHOME product information. Send floor plans, travel, stops, available shaft dimensions and intended use through the project enquiry page. Ask FUJIHD to identify the offered drive system and confirm suitability on project-specific drawings.
Which option is better? Choose the proposal that meets the home’s access needs, construction constraints and service requirements with a clear scope and documented specifications. There is no single winner for every residence.
