How lifts work — and the types explained
Understand your lift in plain English: how it actually moves, the few types you'll be offered, what the parts do, and the safety systems that stop a lift from falling. No jargon, no sales pitch.
The counterweight trick — how a traction lift moves
Most lifts you ride are traction lifts. The car hangs from steel ropes that run over a grooved pulley called the sheave, with a counterweight hanging on the other end. The clever part: the counterweight is set to the weight of the empty car plus about half a full load. So the motor never lifts the whole car — only the small difference between the two sides. That is why a lift uses far less power than you would expect, and why the motor can be compact. The machine turns the sheave, and friction on the ropes carries the car up or down.
The types of lift — and where each fits
| Type | Best for | Speed | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gearless traction | Mid to high-rise | 1.5–10 m/s | The motor turns the rope sheave directly — fast, smooth and energy-efficient. The standard for tall buildings. |
| Geared traction | Low to mid-rise | up to ~2.5 m/s | A motor drives the sheave through a gearbox that trades speed for torque. Common in older and mid-rise buildings. |
| MRL (machine-room-less) | Low to mid-rise | ~1.0–2.5 m/s | A gearless traction lift with the motor mounted inside the shaft — no separate machine room, quieter and efficient. |
| Hydraulic | Low-rise (2–8 floors) | up to ~1.0 m/s | A piston pushed by an oil pump raises the car. Simple and economical for short rises, but uses more energy. |
| Home lift | Home / 2–3 stops | 0.3–0.5 m/s | Compact hydraulic, screw or MRL units that fit an existing home with minimal civil work. |
Not sure which suits your building? Our lift selector matches type, capacity and speed to your floors and passengers.
The parts of a lift
Car / cabin
Where you ride — runs up and down the shaft on guide rails.
Counterweight
Balances the car plus about half a full load, so the motor moves far less weight.
Hoist ropes
Steel ropes connecting the car to the counterweight over the sheave.
Traction sheave
The grooved pulley the machine turns; friction on the ropes moves the car.
Machine / motor
Drives the sheave — directly (gearless) or through a gearbox (geared).
Controller
The 'brain' that dispatches the car, levels it and runs the safeties.
Guide rails
Steel rails that keep the car and counterweight aligned in the shaft.
Doors & interlocks
Landing and car doors that lock so the lift can't move with a door open.
What stops a lift from falling
A lift in genuine free-fall is, by design, almost impossible — several independent safety systems each have to fail first:
Overspeed governor
Watches the car's speed and trips the safety gear the moment it exceeds about 115% of rated speed.
Safety gear
Mechanical jaws that wedge onto the guide rails and physically stop the car if it over-speeds — whatever the cause.
Buffers
Heavy cushions at the bottom of the shaft (the pit) that absorb the impact if a car ever travels too far down.
Door interlocks
The lift cannot move unless every landing door is shut and locked, and a door cannot be opened between floors.
Automatic Rescue Device (ARD)
On a power cut, it moves the car to the nearest floor and opens the doors so no one is trapped.
Now put it to use
Understanding the lift is step one — here's the rest.
Which lift should you buy? →Lift safety guide →Maintenance & AMC →Independent & educational. LiftInverter.com does not sell lifts. This explainer covers how lifts work in general; specific designs vary by manufacturer. For any decision or fault, consult a licensed lift engineer.