Why are Stairlifts Battery Operated?
Most people who are new to the industry will tell you that stair lifts are battery operated so it can run during a power failure. While that may be true, the main reason why a stair lift is battery operated is so that it doesn’t require a trailing cable. So you ask, “What is a trailing cable?” A trailing cable is a cable that brings power from the wall outlet to the actual stairlift chair. Years ago, all stair lifts were wall power and had a trailing cable that worked with a cord reel like the one on some vacuum cleaners. We all know how well those work on a vacuum cleaner! What would happen is the cord reel would not reel in the cord and the chair would actually run over the cord. Thus causing a shortage and burning out lots of electrical components. While batteries may have some issues, it is far better to change batteries every 3 to 4 years than to spend hundreds of dollars on burnt out electrical components.
