Every lift type in plain English — what each one is, what it costs to operate, and where it belongs.
Reviewed by
Ralph Humphrey,
Technical Director · Last reviewed May 2026
A lift is vertical-transport equipment — a cab running in a shaft between floors. UK lift terminology covers nine equipment types and four drive mechanisms across the BS EN 81 standard family. "Lift" and "elevator" mean the same thing; the rest (passenger, platform, dumbwaiter, home lift, residential elevator) maps onto specification, standard, and use case.
A platform lift under BS EN 81-41 carries its drive in a single self-supporting column. A motor at the top (or, on some units, inside the cab roof) rotates a screw inside the column; a nut fixed to the cab climbs the screw. No counterweight, no separate machine room, and a pit as shallow as 50 mm. The cross-section opposite shows the standard accessibility-grade specification — glazed sides, half-height landing door, and a controlled-descent valve for safe lowering on power loss.
That mechanical simplicity is the reason platform lifts retrofit into existing buildings where a passenger-lift install is structurally impossible. It also explains the trade-offs: travel speed is around 0.15 m/s (versus 1.0 m/s and up on a passenger lift), capacity sits below 500 kg, and the maximum useful travel is around 13 m. The right answer for two- to three-storey accessibility, schools, care homes, and low-rise commercial; the wrong answer for any building where throughput matters.
Standard
BS EN 81-41
Vertical platforms for persons with impaired mobility
Drive
Screw column
No counterweight, no machine room
Travel
Up to 13 m
Typically 1–3 storeys
Speed
0.15 m/s
Accessibility-grade ride
Reading the shaft
How do you tell a platform lift from a passenger lift on a site visit?
The fastest tell is the shaft head. A passenger lift in a traction install runs steel ropes through a sheave at the top; a platform lift typically runs a screw or chain drive with no counterweight and a much shorter overrun.
Cab finish, levelling tolerance, and pit depth are the other three giveaways — covered below in the type-by-type taxonomy.
The taxonomy
Nine equipment types, each with its own standard, drive, and right answer.
UK lift terminology is non-standardised in the market and contradictory in vendor marketing — "home lift", "domestic lift", "residential elevator", and "through-floor lift" frequently refer to the same physical install with different sales register. The categories below are organised by BS EN 81 sub-standard and drive type, which is the only useful way to compare them honestly.
01Lift type
Passenger lift
The lift most people mean when they say "lift" or "elevator". A cab runs in a vertical shaft (hoistway), supported by steel ropes through a sheave at the top — that is the traction system on the right-hand diagram above. Modern installations are usually MRL (machine-room-less), with the motor and controller housed inside the shaft head. Older buildings still run with a dedicated machine room above. Built to BS EN 81-20 (construction and installation) and BS EN 81-50 (component examination). Sits under LOLER for six-monthly thorough examination because it carries people.
A vertical lifting platform built for low travel and accessibility duty — wheelchair access, step-free entry, two- or three-storey installs in a building where a full passenger lift is overkill. Smaller pit and headroom requirements than a passenger lift, often shaft-less in a self-supporting structure with glazed sides. The Equality Act 2010 (which succeeded the DDA 1995) makes reasonable adjustment a statutory duty on access to public buildings, which is the legal anchor behind most platform-lift specifications. BASE is a platform-lift specialist, managed by a team with approaching four decades of platform and passenger lift experience.
Standard
BS EN 81-41
Drive
Screw, chain, or hydraulic — no counterweight
Travel
Up to ~13 m (typically 1–3 storeys)
Typical use
Accessibility access, low-rise residential, schools, care homes
03Lift type
Goods lift
Sized and rated for cargo rather than people. Goods-only lifts are built to BS EN 81-31 and are not designed for passenger travel; goods-passenger lifts (sometimes called combination lifts) are built to BS EN 81-20 and can carry both. Capacity is typically 500 kg to 5,000 kg, with reinforced floors, scuff-resistant interiors, and wider door openings. Levelling tolerance is tighter on heavy-load goods lifts because forklift entry will not tolerate a step.
Standard
BS EN 81-31 (goods-only) / 81-20 (goods-passenger)
A small lift for goods only, smaller than a goods lift but larger than a dumbwaiter — typically 50 kg to 300 kg capacity, with a floor area too small for a person to enter. Common in hotel kitchens, library stack-rooms, and document-handling between floors. Built to BS EN 81-3 for service lifts up to 300 kg.
Standard
BS EN 81-3 / 81-31
Drive
Hydraulic, traction, or drum
Travel
Up to ~15 m
Typical use
Restaurants, hotels, libraries, document storage
05Lift type
Dumbwaiter
The smallest category of UK lift — a compact cab for transporting food, plates, paperwork, laundry, or small parcels between floors. Floor area below 1 m² and capacity typically 50 kg to 100 kg, so a dumbwaiter cannot carry a person and is excluded from LOLER thorough examination for passengers (though it still sits under PUWER as work equipment). Restaurants and hotel kitchens are the classic use case; healthcare laundry and pathology specimens are the modern one.
A seated lift that travels along a rail fixed to the staircase itself — a different category of equipment from a vertical lifting platform. Sits under BS EN 81-40 and is the entry-level solution for domestic accessibility when a through-floor lift or a home lift is not viable. Stairlifts do not require planning permission and are typically installed in a single visit.
Standard
BS EN 81-40
Drive
Rack-and-pinion on a guide rail
Travel
Along the staircase (any length)
Typical use
Single-occupier domestic accessibility
07Lift type
Through-floor lift
A vertical lift that travels through a cut-out in the upper floor, with no enclosed shaft on the ground level. Designed for domestic retrofit when a homeowner needs step-free movement between two floors and a stairlift is no longer adequate. Compact footprint (1 m × 1 m typical), self-supporting, and can usually be installed without planning permission in England and Wales because it sits inside the existing building envelope.
Standard
BS EN 81-41
Drive
Screw, chain, or counterbalance
Travel
Ground to first floor (single-storey rise)
Typical use
Domestic — accessibility retrofit in two-storey homes
08Lift type
Home lift
A small domestic lift built for residential use across multiple storeys. Sometimes classified as a vertical lifting platform under BS EN 81-41 (slower travel, lower headroom); sometimes as a small passenger lift under BS EN 81-20 (higher travel speed, full cab enclosure). Pneumatic vacuum home lifts use a sealed glazed tube with air-pressure differential to lift the cab — a distinctive option for two- and three-storey homes where shaft-less install matters. Screw-drive units are the workhorse mid-market option.
Standard
BS EN 81-41 or BS EN 81-20 (depending on classification)
Drive
Screw, traction, hydraulic, or pneumatic vacuum
Travel
2 to 6 storeys typical
Typical use
Domestic — luxury new-build and accessibility retrofit
09Lift type
Residential elevator
A full passenger-lift specification installed in a domestic property — the "residential elevator" terminology imported from the US is increasingly used in the UK for luxury new-build and high-end retrofit. Distinguished from a home lift by being built to the full BS EN 81-20 commercial-grade passenger standard rather than the lighter BS EN 81-41 platform-lift standard, with the corresponding speed, cab finish, and inspection regime that comes with it. Residential elevators in a multi-storey home are subject to LOLER if the property is rented out or used in a work context.
Hydraulic, traction, screw, pneumatic vacuum — the trade-off each one makes.
The drive is what determines travel speed, travel height, energy efficiency, and how much builder's work the install needs. Every lift on the UK market uses one of four. The cross-section above shows a screw column; the table below explains why the other three exist.
Drive type
Hydraulic
Cab sits on a hydraulic ram driven by a motorised pump and oil reservoir. Quiet, smooth, and very tolerant of heavy loads — the workhorse for low-rise goods lifts and many platform lifts. Limit is travel height (typically 18 m maximum for direct-acting; more with roped-hydraulic) and energy efficiency (less efficient on long up-travel than traction). The pump unit sits in a small machine room or in-shaft.
Steel ropes run from the cab over a sheave at the top of the shaft to a counterweight — the cross-section diagram above. Counterweight is typically 40–50% of rated load plus the cab's own mass, which balances the load and makes traction far more energy-efficient than hydraulic on long up-travel. The drive standard for any passenger lift over a few storeys, and the only practical option for high-rise. MRL (machine-room-less) variants put the motor and controller inside the shaft head.
Built to
BS EN 81-20 · BS EN 81-50
Best for
Mid- and high-rise passenger lifts, modern MRL installs
Drive type
Screw drive
A rotating screw inside a column drives the cab up and down via a nut fixed to the cab. No counterweight, no machine room — the entire mechanism is self-contained in the column. Travel speed is lower than traction (typically 0.15 m/s) which is acceptable for short residential or accessibility travel. Common drive for platform lifts and the mid-market home-lift segment.
Built to
BS EN 81-41
Best for
Platform lifts, home lifts, through-floor lifts
Drive type
Pneumatic vacuum
A sealed transparent tube creates an air-pressure differential above and below the cab; reducing pressure above the cab lifts it, releasing pressure lowers it. Distinctive glazed-tube aesthetic, very fast install (no pit, minimal builder's work), and most often specified for two- to three-storey luxury homes. Capacity is lower than mechanical drives (typically 200 kg / 1–2 persons), which is the practical ceiling on its use.
Built to
Machine-specific (ASME A17.1 in US; CE-marked under MD 2006/42/EC in UK)
Best for
Two- to three-storey luxury homes, retrofit where shaft-less matters
UK decision matrix
Hydraulic vs traction — which drive type for which UK building?
Drive choice is decided by building height, traffic profile, and retrofit constraint — not by brand. The four drives map onto distinct UK building types. For a typical low-rise UK build (2–6 floors, light traffic), hydraulic is the default answer; from 5–6 floors upward, traction takes over on every spec sheet that takes lifecycle energy seriously. The matrix below is the short version of that decision.
UK lift drive decision matrix — hydraulic, traction, screw, and machine-room-less (MRL) compared by typical floors, speed, machine-room need, and UK building fit.
Drive
Typical floors
Speed
Machine room
UK building fit
Hydraulic
2–6 floors
0.3–0.6 m/s
Small machine room or in-shaft pump cabinet
UK boutique residential, small commercial, low-rise goods. Heavy-load tolerant. Oil reservoir means environmental and bunding considerations on a survey.
Traction
5–30+ floors
0.5–2.5 m/s
Yes — traditionally above the shaft
UK office buildings, mid-rise residential blocks, hotels. Ropes plus counterweight — energy-efficient at scale and the only practical answer above 6 floors.
MRL (machine-room-less)
5–20 floors
0.5–2.0 m/s
No — motor sits at the top of the shaft
A subset of traction. Default for new-build UK passenger lifts since the mid-2000s and the standard modernisation answer where the original machine room is being repurposed for floor area.
Screw
2–6 floors
0.15 m/s
No — self-contained column
UK platform lifts (BS EN 81-41) and the mid-market home-lift segment. No oil, very clean install, slow ride — acceptable for short residential or accessibility travel.
Hydraulic
Floors: 2–6
Speed: 0.3–0.6 m/s
Machine room: small room or in-shaft pump cabinet
UK fit: boutique residential, small commercial, low-rise goods. Heavy-load tolerant; oil reservoir means environmental considerations on a survey.
Traction
Floors: 5–30+
Speed: 0.5–2.5 m/s
Machine room: yes, traditionally above the shaft
UK fit: office buildings, mid-rise residential blocks, hotels. Ropes + counterweight — energy-efficient at scale; the only practical answer above 6 floors.
MRL (machine-room-less)
Floors: 5–20
Speed: 0.5–2.0 m/s
Machine room: no — motor sits at the top of the shaft
UK fit: a subset of traction. Default for new-build UK passenger lifts since the mid-2000s and the standard modernisation answer where the old machine room is being repurposed for floor area.
Screw
Floors: 2–6
Speed: 0.15 m/s
Machine room: no — self-contained column
UK fit: platform lifts (BS EN 81-41) and the mid-market home-lift segment. No oil, very clean install, slow ride — acceptable for short residential or accessibility travel.
Short version for a UK low-rise build: under six floors with light passenger traffic, hydraulic is the workhorse; from six floors upward, traction (almost always MRL on new-build) is the right answer. Platform-lift duty and home-lift retrofits sit on screw drive. Heritage modernisations where the original machine room is being lost almost always migrate to MRL.
Frequently asked
The questions a property manager asks before choosing a lift type.
What is a lift, exactly? Is it the same as an elevator?
Yes. "Lift" is UK English and "elevator" is American English for the same piece of vertical-transport equipment — a cab that runs in a shaft (or hoistway) between two or more floors, driven by a motor through ropes, hydraulics, a screw, or air pressure. The UK lift industry uses "lift" for almost everything except when the marketing brief specifically wants the American register — "residential elevator" being the obvious example. Both terms cover the full range from a small dumbwaiter up to a high-rise passenger lift in a London office tower.
What is the difference between a platform lift and a passenger lift?
Standard and purpose. A passenger lift is built to BS EN 81-20 / 50 — full cab, faster travel speed (typically 1.0 m/s and up), longer travel range, and the inspection regime that comes with commercial-grade vertical transport. A platform lift is built to BS EN 81-41 — shorter travel (typically up to 13 m), lower speed (around 0.15 m/s), smaller pit and headroom requirements, and an accessibility-led specification. Platform lifts are the right answer for two-storey access, schools, care homes, and low-rise commercial; passenger lifts are the right answer for anything over three storeys or where commercial throughput matters. BASE services both, which is unusual — most independents specialise in one or the other.
What is a home lift and how is it different from a residential elevator?
Both are domestic — installed in a private home — but the standard they are built to is different. A home lift is most often built to BS EN 81-41 as a vertical lifting platform: slower travel, smaller cab, lower headroom and pit requirements, often a screw or pneumatic-vacuum drive. A residential elevator is built to BS EN 81-20 as a small passenger lift: full cab enclosure, faster travel, traction or hydraulic drive. The home lift is the mid-market workhorse for accessibility retrofit and modest new-build; the residential elevator is the high-end luxury install for multi-storey homes where the homeowner wants commercial-grade ride quality and is willing to take the corresponding cost, pit, and headroom.
What is a through-floor lift?
A vertical lift that travels through an opening cut into the upper floor of a two-storey home, without an enclosed shaft on the ground level. It is the entry-level domestic option above a stairlift — full vertical travel between two floors, a small enclosed cab, and a footprint typically around 1 m × 1 m. The lift sits inside the existing building envelope so it usually does not require planning permission in England and Wales (always check with the local authority). Drive is typically screw, chain, or counterbalance. A through-floor lift is the right answer when a stairlift is no longer adequate for the user but a full home lift is over-specified.
What is a dumbwaiter used for?
A dumbwaiter is the smallest UK lift category — a compact cab carrying goods, food, plates, paperwork, laundry, or pathology samples between floors. Capacity is typically 50 kg to 100 kg with a floor area below 1 m², so a dumbwaiter cannot carry a person. The classic use case is a restaurant or hotel kitchen moving plated food between a basement preparation area and a ground-floor service pass; the modern use cases include hospital laundry, pharmacy and pathology sample transfer, and back-of-house retail. Built to BS EN 81-3. Outside LOLER passenger duty but still sits under PUWER as work equipment.
Which drive should I choose — hydraulic, traction, screw, or pneumatic vacuum?
Travel height and use-case decide it. Hydraulic is the right answer for low-rise (up to about 18 m), heavy goods, and many platform lifts — quiet, smooth, tolerant of heavy loads, but less energy-efficient on long up-travel. Traction is the right answer for any passenger lift over a few storeys and is the only practical drive for high-rise — efficient because of the counterweight, fast, and the basis of nearly every modern MRL install. Screw drive is the right answer for platform lifts, through-floor lifts, and mid-market home lifts — no counterweight, no machine room, self-contained in the column. Pneumatic vacuum is a niche but distinctive option for two- to three-storey luxury homes — sealed glazed tube, no pit, very fast install, but lower capacity than mechanical drives.
Do I need planning permission to install a lift in my home?
Usually no, when the lift sits inside the existing building envelope. Through-floor lifts, home lifts, and most residential elevators retrofit into existing fabric and fall under permitted development in England and Wales — though listed buildings, conservation areas, and any structural opening that affects the external envelope can require consent. The general rule: if the lift adds an external shaft or affects the roofline, expect planning. If it sits inside the existing footprint, expect building regulations approval (for structural opening, fire compartmentation, and electrical) but not planning. BASE handles the technical submission as part of a residential install.
Which lift type sits under LOLER for thorough examination?
Any lift that carries people sits under LOLER Regulation 9 and needs a thorough examination every six months — that includes passenger lifts, platform lifts, home lifts, residential elevators, through-floor lifts, and stairlifts in a workplace. Goods-only lifts (no passenger duty) sit under LOLER on a twelve-month cycle. Dumbwaiters and service lifts that cannot carry a person are outside LOLER passenger duty but still sit under PUWER as work equipment. The full statutory regime — LOLER, PUWER, the Equality Act 2010 — is explained on the dedicated LOLER and PUWER guides linked from the knowledge hub.
Reviewed by
RH
Ralph Humphrey
Technical Director, BASE Lift Services
Ralph Humphrey is Technical Director at BASE Lift Services, responsible for engineering standards across the platform and passenger lift teams.
Tell us about the building. We will tell you which lift type it needs.
Most specification mistakes happen at the brief stage — a platform lift quoted on a building that needs a passenger lift, a home lift specified where a through-floor would do, a goods lift sized for the load but not for the doorway. A 20-minute call with one of our senior engineers usually resolves it. Survey is free and the quote follows from the survey, not from a price list.
