Question: Do I need an elevator phone line for a residential lift inside a duplex?
Answer: An emergency phone is required
AS 1735:2-“Section 34.2”, As1735.15 and AS1735.18-Sections 18.1 “Communications” all stipulate that an emergency phone is required. The allowance for a residential Lift (Inside the house or Unit) is that a cordless phone can be used and if battery operated, a recharging device must be available to ensure the phone operates at all times.
In all cases, the emergency phone must have battery backup to enable operations during power losses/ failure. A GSM (SIM Card Unit) paired with an autodialler phone unit inside the Lift Car is the best option overall.
This post appears in Strata News #555.
Camron Jones
Innovative Lift Consulting
E: rod@elevateconsultancy.com.au
do i need an elevator phone line for a residential lift inside a storey duplex?
Hi Cecil
I have responded to your comment in the article above.
Can you please explain to me, what will happen to the system when the 3G network expires and no longer available.
Depends on the system but you can simply upgrade the GSM Gateway or you can get a 4G Gateway right now. The Pixel Unit is upgradable to 4G and 5G when that becomes available. If you are in Victoria you can email me for a quote or just ask questions.
Can someone please tell me the regulations, if any, for an emergency lift phone in Western Australia for a residential lift from ground to first floor only. The lift company I am dealing with wants to sell me their product which is expensive; will not tell me of the alternatives, which they say there are some, and that they are cheaper.
They also tell me there are no regulations for this type of installation.
This is a new build and I will only be having the NBN to the property.
zibby10@outlook.com
Hi Anne
Can you confirm you are asking about a strata property? The scope of this site is limited to strata residences.
In case of power failure the lift phone needs to work if someone gets stuck in it, with NBN there is no guarantee of this. The best way is to install a GSM gateway, this works off a SIM card like your mobile. Prices can range from $1000 to $5000 depending on quality of equipment. Unfortuantel I am in Victoria what are they quoting you. Sounds a bit dodgy if they say there are no rules or regulations. The lift phone is the most safety critical part of the Lift.
In a private residence only 3 levels–If a lift has a 240 v power point installed so that a cordless VOIP extension can be floated to ensure its battery is always fully charged giving a minimum of 8 hrs talk time–is that an acceptable solution that would meet regulations?
Considering the lift is electrically operated if power is off the lift won’t work anyway and the cordless would operate a minimum of the 8hrs.
Comments please
Hi Robert
We have received the following reply from Rex Henning, Equity Elevator Consultants:
From your question, we presume you have used the company called VoIP Australia Pty Ltd (sometimes referred to as VoIP Force) to provide the new wireless solution. If this is the case, the solution proposed would be acceptable since the VoIP solution comprises a 3G network wireless device (commonly known as a Romtek RM4000 Dual Sim, Dual Modem, Duress Emergency Telephone System). However, to be compliant, a 240v power outlet must be dedicated to the RM4000 device, and this power outlet cannot be used for any other purpose.
We agree that the lift will not operate in a power outage, however, someone could be stuck in the lift when the power goes off, so (i) the lift emergency phone, (ii) lift emergency lights and (iii) the Romtek RM4000lift 3G wireless telephone modem are all required to have battery back-up. Items (i) and (ii) are already part of your lift installation and item (iii) is your new Romtek RM4000 3G wireless modem box, that is to have a dedicated 240v power supply.