The lift in my parents' home is the first that was installed on my behalf. It has been a reliable, safety certified, overpriced solution to allow me access to the basement. It is a very slow moving hydraulic, DC powered, mechanism that provides the lift or descent. The DC power comes from a battery that is constantly being charged by AC and is supposed to be the backup to a power outage. I've never needed to test the backup but I'm doubtful that a seventeen year old battery would have the capacity to complete a cycle, if necessary.
The door locks shut as soon as the lift is activated, but that won't happen until the tediously slow gas shock lets the door creep closed. Once you reach your destination that shock makes a very inconvenient resistance when opening the door. Add to that the significant lip the user needs to descend or climb when exiting or entering while the lift is in the basement and it's not exactly smooth to use. The lip would be non-existent if the lift descended into a recess, which would make room for the pressure-sensitive plate which prevents the crushing of anything that might be underneath. Safety first, I suppose, though I've come crashing out of there on an angle when the door caught my chair because of the safety of the gas shock. Not much hope of carrying anything on my lap with that thing. My current lift has no such safeties. We'll look at it in the near future.
You can likely determine from my tone that I'm not fond of this lift. Safety is important, but almost everything takes longer in our disabled lives. Does getting downstairs have to take the 78 seconds I've timed it at? My current lift is plenty safe and takes me 17 seconds. These times include time taken to enter the lift. My biggest complaint comes not from inconvenience, but from well being. Not a safety concern but a sanity concern. That and the difficulty of transporting anything in addition to the user.
As the thin metal panels that enclose the wall-mounted tracks and the carriage expand or contract with the temperature change in the house between every furnace or air conditioner cycle they snap, crackle and pop, loudly, right above my wife's and my head, as we try to sleep. This drives us nuts.
I do not know what other safety certified lift options are available but I recommend seeking them out. If a lift of this style is your only option have it installed in a closet or away from places you need quiet.
Source: Home adaptation and modification businesses.
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