Written by the MB Elevator engineering team. The same engineers who survey, install and service the lifts we write about.
The fear behind this question is usually pretty specific: will passengers actually get trapped mid-shaft if the power goes out? For any properly equipped elevator, the answer is no, and the reason comes down to a system called an ARD, which is far more common than most people realise.
What an ARD actually does
An Automatic Rescue Device detects a power failure and switches the cabin over to a battery backup that's enough to move it, not run it normally, just move it, to the nearest floor, open the doors, and let passengers out safely. It's not meant to keep the lift running for general use during an outage. Its only job is a controlled, safe stop at a floor, and it's genuinely good at that one job, usually completing the whole rescue sequence within a minute or two of the power actually going out.
Backup power options beyond ARD
Buildings that deal with frequent or extended power cuts sometimes add a UPS or generator backup sized to keep one or more lifts running normally through an outage, instead of relying solely on the ARD's single-trip rescue function. This is usually a building-level decision made alongside your AMC provider, based on how disruptive an extended outage would actually be for your residents or tenants, and how often outages actually happen in your area.
How often does this actually happen in practice?
In our experience servicing buildings across Delhi NCR, ARD activations are far more common than most residents assume, since even a brief grid fluctuation can trigger one. This is exactly why it needs to be tested regularly rather than treated as a rare emergency-only system, because for many buildings, it's quietly doing its job several times a month without anyone really noticing.
What you should actually check
Confirm your building's lift has a working ARD, and that it's tested periodically as part of the AMC visit, not just installed once and forgotten about for years afterward. A battery backup that's never been load-tested isn't really a safety feature, it's just an assumption sitting there untested, and batteries do degrade over time even if they're never actually used.
See our safety inspection page for what gets checked during a proper audit, and our FAQ page for other safety questions people ask us all the time about what happens during outages, breakdowns, and other unexpected situations.
What residents should actually do during a power cut
If you're already in the lift when the power goes, stay calm and let the ARD do its job, it typically only takes a minute or so to bring the cabin to the nearest floor. If you're waiting to use the lift and the power's out, just use the stairs for that trip rather than waiting, since the ARD may already be mid-rescue for someone else.
Communicating this to residents ahead of time
Most resident anxiety around power cuts and lifts comes from simply not knowing what happens, not from the actual mechanics being unsafe. A short, plain-language notice explaining that the building's lift has a working ARD, and what that means in practice, does more to reassure people than any technical specification sheet ever will, and it's a five-minute task for whoever manages resident communication in your building.
A feature worth mentioning to prospective buyers or tenants too
If you're selling or renting a unit, mentioning that the building's lift has a properly tested ARD is a small but genuine reassurance for anyone concerned about power reliability, particularly for elderly buyers or families with young children. It costs nothing to mention and it's the kind of detail that shows a building is genuinely well maintained rather than just kept running.
Need this looked at on site?
If this raised a question specific to your building, tell us about it and we’ll get back to you with a straight answer.