Why is an Emergency Rescue Device (ERD) indispensable for Lifts?

Have you ever been on a lift that stopped working due to power failure while you were still far from reaching your desired destination?

If not, imagine the scenario for a second!

The lift suddenly gives a few jerks and stops, lights are blinking on and off, and a deadly silence engulfs everything. On top of that, you are alone, and there is no one to hold on to for support. Pretty scary, right? This is just a glimpse of what happens when a lift stops working midway….

When the energy supply to the lift stops, the elevator car bounces back and forth like a rocking boat and makes rough metal sounds. It falls with lighting speed; though not a free fall but very close to it and extremely dangerous for people inside. All this happens in a few minutes, so you struggle to understand the situation.

What would need in this situation?

An emergency rescue, right?

Today we will introduce you to an Emergency Rescue Device (ERD) that is fitted into elevators so that passengers don’t face any life-threatening situations in case of power failure.

But before that, look at things that can happen to people when they are stuck in an elevator.

What can happen to people when they are stuck in an elevator?

Various people report different experiences about the time they were stuck in an elevator, but the most common ones are:

Panic attacks: Getting trapped in an elevator is alarming. When the lift stops with a jerk, most people’s first reaction is panic. Their hearts start pounding heavily, and they experience a sinking feeling. During a panic attack, preexisting health conditions such as asthma make themselves known, often requiring emergency help.

Confusion: When the lift stops, all the lights turn off since everything is powered by electricity from the main supply. This complete darkness in the lift makes matters worse for people. It creates confusion, especially when the lift is cramped with passengers. This confusion also causes their fight-or-flight response to go helter-skelter.

Claustrophobia: Even for people with a mild fear of enclosed places, getting stuck in a lift that stopped due to a power outage can trigger their phobia. The particular term for having a fear of riding elevators is called Elevatophobia.

Two types of phobia that lead to Elevatophobia are:

Claustrophobia: fear of sealed-off spaces.

Agoraphobia: fear of being confined without a way to escape.

About five percent of the world population suffers from  Elevatophobia.

When a lift stops with a jolt, people may experience a sharp decline in blood pressure, troubled breathing, sweating and shaking, hyperventilation, dizziness, and dry mouth. Some people also feel choked even with proper ventilation in the lift. According to the American Journal of Psychology, this situation can become life-threatening for passengers, especially kids, pregnant women, the disabled, and the elderly.

What is an Emergency Rescue Device for lifts?

An Emergency Rescue Device also called an ERD, is a device installed in lifts that comes to action during power outages that halt the lift’s functions. This emergence apparatus provides power to the lifts with a 3-phase power supply when electricity from the mains supply disconnects.

An ERD differs from a standby generator or an emergency power system. Unlike them, it provides near-instantaneous fortification from input power disruptions by providing energy stored in batteries through a dedicated Power Bank. Its stored energy is enough to protect you from getting stuck due to power failures, technical hitches, and other troubling situations. ERD power also eliminates the need for using a backup generator.

How is an ERD different from an ARD?

ERD is the latest technology, while ARD (Automatic Rescue Device) has been used for quite some time. In the event of power failure, a lift equipped with this ERD continues to move smoothly.

Opposite to ERD, an ARD technology starts working 30 seconds to 1 minute after the lift stops. The lights are switched on, and the lift takes you to the next floor and opens the door for a safe exit. Once the exit is complete, the generator kicks in and starts its reset process.

The lift goes straight to the basement and takes at least 10 minutes to reset and start its operations. During this time, people remain stuck in the lift, panicking and praying for their dear life.

In the case of an ERD, the passenger does not even feel any change when the lift transitions from grid supply to ERD power if it continues to work for hours.

ARD is not a backup device. Its job is to take the lift to the nearest floor and open the door for the passengers. In contrast, an ERD is a powerful backup device.

With ARD technology, the total time from a power outage to the opening of the lift door is approximately one minute. Under normal circumstances, waiting for one minute is no hassle. But when you are confined in a lift, even one minute can create panic and confusion among passengers or even cause medical emergencies such as heart failure.

Why is an ERD better than an ARD?

ERD is much superior technology to an ARD. Benefits of ERD include:

Smooth operation

When an ERD is fitted into an elevator, the lift works smoothly on the battery without any jerks. The switching time is zero; the lift does not stop even for a moment, and unlike ARD, no generators are required. The lift electronics and electrical systems keep running without any break. The smooth functions eliminate the odds of lift failures and considerably reduce maintenance costs.

High power quality

Compared to the power supplied by Electricity companies, ERD delivers high-quality pure sine wave power to the lift. The power frequency is exactly 50Hz, with no chance of fluctuations.

Power quality supplied by an ERD can also not be compared with any generator or existing ARD system. ERD supplies stable and clean power in an economical and environmentally-friendly fashion as it only caters to the lift load.

Features of a lift embedded with Su-Vastika ERD

The lift embedded with Su-Vastika ERD provides passengers with the utmost convenience and safety. An Electronic Control Unit is installed inside the lift to indicate to the passengers whether the lift is working on the grid or ERD power.

The passengers cannot feel the change when the lift transition from one power source to another due to zero switching time. Therefore, informing the passengers that the lift is working on emergency backup is necessary.

ECU system tells the passengers about power transition through its announcement feature. The passengers can also see whether the lift is being operated on grid supply or ERD power through a display installed in the lift.

In case of low battery or when it is discharged, the display indicates the low battery. At the same time, the embedded speakers announce for the safety of passengers, indicating that the battery is low.

Why choosing Su-Vastika
ERD technology is the right decision?

No one wants to ride on lifts that carry the risk of stopping midway and making you claustrophobic. Places such as shopping malls, hotels, and hospitals, require lifts for their customer’s convenience. But without ERD, there is a chance that customers will experience stopping jerks and falls in lifts.

Such bad experiences are enough to fend off your customers. Therefore, installing ERD from trusted manufacturers like Su-Vastika is the right thing to do. Some features making Su-Vastika ERD technology a superior choice include:

• Su-Vastika has a technology patent for their ERD technology

• Their machines can be designed for small to big lifts up to 500 KVA load
• Their ERD technology supports lead-Acid as well as lithium batteries
• The technology is efficient enough to provide clean power backup for up to two days
• This technology has BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) Certification (third party guarantee of safety, quality, and reliability)
• It is a low-maintenance machine
• Their ERD technology supports solar power too

Conclusion

ERD technology is much superior and reliable to the previously used ARD technology. It ensures that lift function never stops and people with or without any underlying illnesses such as claustrophobia never feel the fear of getting trapped in an elevator ever again.