Up please: the door opener for the home lift market

Piconorm has developed a complete home lift. New Lift not only supplies the home lift controller ECO for the Piconorm Avanza, but also an app with which the home lift can be controlled via mobile devices.

Society is getting older. But no one wants to be reminded of it. Anyone who builds a house at 30 is not thinking about how getting to the higher floors could one day become a problem. The same applies to medical practices whose patients are steadily getting older. Corresponding retrofitting is required.

The home lift as solution makes sense here. Unlike the stair lift, it has a positive image. It can also put in a convincing performance compared to the classic lift: it is more compact and has much lower running costs.

Therefore, it is all the more surprising that at first glance German lift builders in the past have rather neglected or even ignored this lucrative segment. There were good reasons for this: on the one hand, home lifts used to be far more expensive than stair lifts, making the target group correspondingly small. On the other, there were obstacles in terms of the drive and control technology for this kind of lift. Those who wanted German quality had to go away empty-handed.

Price gap is narrowing

Photo: © Piconorm

But a lot has happened in recent years. The price gap between stair and home lifts is narrowing – the latter are becoming affordable and as a result ceasing to be a niche segment. In addition, the technology has made a quantum leap - which according to its own information is thanks to Piconorm, based in the Mosel valley.

As a specialist for drive technology, the company developed a complete lift: the home lift Piconorm Avanza. The technical centrepiece is the inhouse developed 6:1 linear axis drive, which is unique worldwide, Piconorm emphasised. Depending on the model, the car can as a result be moved up to a conveyance height of 12 m.

Moreover, the drive system manages without hydraulic oil and counterweight. The flat belts serve as load-carrying gear and are already cut to length and installed on delivery. The drive is almost maintenance-free and – among other things, thanks to galvanised parts – a model of high quality German workmanship", the company explained.

App for remote control

Photo: © Piconorm

Reliance was also put on Made in Germany when it came to control technology. As the first German manufacturer, the sector specialist New Lift has not only developed the home lift ECO controller, but also the associated MyEco app. This allows the lift to be operated remotely via mobile devices. "This is particularly advantageous for people with limited mobility," explained Holger Weiland, managing director of New Lift Service Center GmbH.

Lift builders can choose between a complete lift and a kit. The first option is for everyone who would like to limit the amount of work. This is because compared to a comparable lift, you only need about half the time to assemble the Piconorm Avanza.

Whether complete lift or kit, the "combination of drive and control technology can pave the way into the home lift sector for German lift builders," Piconorm emphasised. This way was calculable and a secure investment, because Piconorm Avanza not only meets the corresponding applicable regulations, but also because it already met all the criteria of the planned, noticeably stricter regulations for home lifts in public buildings. Consequently, in future, nothing will have to be exchanged or retrofitted.

In Germany, Avanza is marketed directly by Piconorm; Zagro has assumed the international sales.

More informations: piconorm.com
newlift.de
zagro.ch