ISO 8100-32 · CIBSE Guide D
Elevator handling capacity and interval
Handling capacity is the share of building population a lift group can serve in five minutes. Interval is how often a car arrives. Both must pass ISO Table 2.
How HC% is defined
Handling capacity (HC%) comes from passengers carried per round trip and how many trips the group makes in five minutes, expressed as a percentage of total building population.
It must clear both the ISO 8100-32 Table 2 minimum for the building type and your design up-peak demand. An office that “has enough cars” on interval can still fail HC% if cars are small or slow.
Typical Table 2 bands
Offices often target about 12% handling capacity with interval around 30 s. Hotels use a similar HC% with a longer interval; residential buildings use a lower HC% and a longer interval. Always check the standard and the project brief — these are planning defaults, not a substitute for the published table.
What moves the number
More cars shorten interval (INT = RTT ÷ cars) and raise group HC%. Higher speed and shorter door times cut round-trip time. Population and demand set how much HC% you must deliver. The guide lists each field; the simulator shows the live check.