Elevators that employ an electric hoisting mechanism and hoisting cables to lift and lower the elevator car vertically along guide rails are known as traction elevators. They are popularly used by many mid-rise and high-rise structures and require a penthouse machine room to store the mechanical equipment and a counterweight to balance the load placed on the machinery by the car and passengers. One of the common problems that arise while choosing the elevator system is how to choose the best fit according to your needs. Well, there are mainly two types of traction elevator:
Geared Traction Elevator.
Traction using Gears Elevators feature a gearbox that is connected to the motor and powers the rope-moving wheel. This is useful to use a low KW motor and reduce cost. Although the speed limit is lower than that of gearless traction elevators, it is higher than that of many other elevator kinds. Furthermore, these elevators may reach a maximum distance of about 250 feet. Geared traction elevators have low energy consumption and maintenance costs. Geared elevators offer advantages in terms of energy efficiency as they use less power to run the elevator shaft.
Gearless Traction Elevator
Gearless traction elevators have a very high travel speed of up to 2000 ft. per minute and can travel a great distance. Their maximum travel distance is almost 2000 ft. and thus they are the best choice for high-rise buildings. The speed of the gearless traction elevator can be selected as up to 2.54 meters per second. Furthermore, hosting ropes are linked to the top of the elevator cabin and encircle the motion drive sheave. The gearless traction system has proven to be so robust that it is still regarded as the finest and most dependable choice for high-rise structures today. They are well-known for their low energy usage, as the engine only supports half of the cab load.
Geared v/s Gearless Traction Elevator :
Lets us consider few factors that help us to get a clear-cut idea of how geared traction elevators differ from gearless ones.
ENERGY CONSUMPTION:
Gearless elevators are often popular in terms of their energy-saving capacity. Being smaller in size due to the absence of gears, a gearless elevator will help the efficiency issue and make gearless motors more desirable than geared ones.
MACHINE ROOM:
One of the most considered differences between a geared and a gearless traction elevator is the machine room. In the case of a geared traction elevator, a machine room is mandatory as the wheel and electric motor have to be placed inside the machine room which is located above the elevator car. The absence of a Machine room makes a gearless traction elevator a popular choice as the wheel is kept above the elevator cabin and moves along with it.
CAPACITY:
Both geared and gearless lifts have nearly the same load-bearing capacity which is considered enough for carrying passengers up and down. The requirements may vary depending on the project, but it is clear that gearless elevators outperform geared elevators in terms of speed and travel distance.
MAINTENANCE:
Due to the absence of gears, a gearless traction elevator is considered easy to maintain compared to the geared ones. Geared traction elevators have larger engines than gearless traction elevators, which needs larger combined instrumentation and complicates and increases the cost of maintenance. Also, a geared elevator requires timely greasing and other procedures for its smooth functioning.
Still confused about which one to choose? Connect with our industry experts to know more.
