Elevator Door Types: Centre-Opening, Single-Slide, Two-Speed, Telescopic, Vertical Bi-Parting and EN 81-20 Requirements

Elevator doors are classified by their opening mechanism and configuration: (1) Centre-opening (CO) — two panels slide apart simultaneously from the centre; the most common type for passenger elevators because it has the fastest door open/close time (both panels move simultaneously) and requires least door pocket space per panel; (2) Single-slide (side opening) — one or two panels slide to one side; requires a deeper door pocket on one side of the door opening; used where the car width or landing architecture does not allow centre-opening; (3) Two-speed (2S) side-opening — two panels moving to the same side at different speeds (1:2 speed ratio); uses less pocket depth than full-width single panel; (4) Telescopic (multi-panel) — three or more panels telescoping to one or both sides; used for very wide openings (goods lifts, car park lifts) where a standard door would require an excessively deep pocket; (5) Vertical bi-parting — two panels, one moving up and one moving down, meeting in the middle; used for goods lifts, hydraulic lifts with very low overhead, or industrial applications; (6) Swing door — hinged manual door; used in older installations, heritage lifts, and some home lifts; EN 81-20 requires power-operated doors on all new passenger lifts (manual swing doors are permitted only in specific cases such as EN 81-3 service lifts). Key parameters: door opening width (DO), door height (DH), door panel speed (typically 0.3–0.5 m/s), kinetic energy at leading edge ≤10 J.

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