A vertical wheelchair lift allows the wheelchair-bound individuals to be raised or lowered down to another floor. Unlike a stair lift, this device lifts a handicapped or a disabled person without leaving his chair. Either powered by hydraulics or by electricity, it is a good alternative to low-rise elevators and wheelchair ramps. It aids in defeating restraints in the architecture of a building, may it be residential, commercial or public.
Vertical wheelchair lifts are a cheaper and a more practical version of an elevator. This wheelchair lift is controlled by buttons that are located in a control panel. As compared to an ordinary elevator, they are a lot easier to install. The wheelchair user can simply click on a button to go up or down. These lifts are mostly used in commercial and public buildings like offices and schools due to their safe and convenient features. However, they are also used at home and are usually installed on patios and porches, but not on staircases. Most wheelchair lifts that are used in staircases are the inclined wheelchair lifts.
One advantage of vertical wheelchair lifts is their variety. The different models include the enclosed model, the shaft way model, the stage model, and the opal model. With an enclosed model, the wheelchair user is lifted while he is boarded on a platform that is bounded by walls and a ceiling. The shaft way model, on the other hand, provides easy transportation along narrow stairways. This model is installed on existing walls just like an elevator. If the height is shorter, such as in the case of a platform, a stage model is mostly used. The opal model is somehow similar to the enclosed model, except for its absence of a ceiling.
Most commercial wheelchair lifts including vertical platform lifts come with a lot of different safety features such as final limits switch, emergency buttons, constant pressure buttons, anti-slip flooring, and under-platform obstruction sensors among others.
A vertical wheelchair lift is considerably better than other wheelchair lifts for a lot of reasons. For one, this type of lift is relatively more affordable. Aside from the lower price of these lifts on the market, they are also easier and cheaper to install. These lifts require less maintenance as well, thus enabling one save a lot of money in the long run.
Also, they are easier to operate. Anyone, including the wheelchair-bound, can effortlessly follow the instructions and maneuver the machine all by himself. Moreover, vertical wheel chair lifts are proven usable and functional to other labors aside from lifting wheelchair. They can also carry huge groceries and other things as long as they have a weight of at least 500 pounds but does not exceed beyond 750 pounds.
Like any other wheelchair lifts, vertical models provide the handicapped, the disabled, the sick or the aged the freedom to move and to have an easy access between floors. They can do so without needing assistance from others. This would increase their self-esteem which may determine faster recovery. Installing vertical wheelchair lifts would also inhibit discrimination towards the wheelchair-bound persons, most especially those who study or work among physically enabled individuals. In a nut-shell, these lifts help physically disabled people by leading them to an activity-oriented life where they can enjoys independence that should never be exclusive to those who are lucky to be given the ability to walk and run.