ABOVE GROUND GATE AUTOMATION
These systems will generally only open your gate up to 100/110 degrees. They are visible as they are mounted on the gate, but not visable from the outside if you have a solid gate. These types of system are more easily maintained as they are not in the ground and are not subject to standing water.

UNDERGROUND GATE AUTOMATION
An underground system can open a gate up to 180 degrees if required and are more pleasing to the eye as they are very well hidden. These systems cannot be fitted where the local water table level is to high as they are not designed to work underwater although they are all IP rated for a maximum 20 minutes submersal.

Underground automation installation requires more time and components, therefore increasing the cost. In addition. a more robust aftercare plan is required to ensure all components work effectively.

SLIDING GATE AUTOMATION
Sliding gate systems are an effective solution when you have limited parking space as the gate does not require a swing area to open. Typically, this type of system requires a well thought out design as there are many safety considerations to factor into the design.

An integral part of the design is that there is a requirement of a ground area for gate to slide along to be twice the length of the gate itself, the ground has to be level. This type of gate automation installation requires a lot of steel work, infrastructure and more labour to fit the support structure and ground rail.

Gate operating systems for most residential applications come in two formats; the motors that drive the gates can be concealed underground or fitted on the gate. These systems are therefore referred to as underground or above ground systems. They both do the same job up to a certain point, although the above ground can only open gates to 90/110 degrees and the underground can open gates up to 180 degrees. The positioning of an existing gate can also determine which system we are able to fit as the hinge positioning of the gate has to be within certain dimensions in proximity to the motors axis for automation to be achievable.

Sometimes the appearance of an above ground motor can spoil the final look to the gates and the decision may be made that underground is the preffered choice. The underground system installation time is a lot longer as more work is required to excavate, fit soakaways and concrete, lay a final surface to complement the surroundings, and more equipment is required as an underground motor requires a foundation casement and link arms/shoes for the gates to be mounted on.

Motors are also engineered in two options, either Electro-Mechanical or Hydraulic.

ELECTRO-MECHANICAL GATE AUTOMATION
These units are driven by a motor and gearbox with the 230v versions tending to have a lower duty cycle (30-40%) than the hydraulic units; this means that they will give you 20 operations per hour which in most residential applications is more than adequate.

Electro-mechanical gate motors are more suited to a medium weight gate not exceeding 500kg (half a ton) with the duty cycle determined by what the operator can actually achieve before overheating and finally cutting out (the systems have thermal overload protection preventing any more harm). In the event of cutting out, you will have to wait for the motor to cool down before the unit resets.

Most electromechanical units are grease packed for lubrication but when the motors get to warm, thermal overload will take over, some of the higher spec electromechanical units are oil filled and give a duty cycle up to 50/60% this is because the oil absorbs the heat better than grease.

Electro-mechanical motors have many moving parts which will affect their lifespan depending on how much use they receive. A system with residential usage for one property will have an expected life span from 8 to 15 years.

NB. Duty cycle operation is referred to as 1 cycle for open and 1 cycle for close, so 20 open cycles is actually 40 cycles

HYDRAULIC GATE AUTOMATION The hydraulic gate units rely on a small electric pump pumping hydraulic oil into a ram and it is the motion and pressure of the oil, which determines the speed and torque of the motors. They operate very quietly, have fewer moving components and have a much higher duty cycle (30-100 operations per hour, suitable for very intensive use). As the oil is circulated around a closed circuit system the unit never gets over heated as the heat is dissipated by a constant supply of cooler oil and air cooling (passive cooling).

If a hydraulic system is looked after properly it will last twice as long (or even longer) than a conventional electromechanical system. The higher specification hydraulic systems can handle gate weights of up to a ton for each leaf and up to 4 metres in length.

KEYPADS
An external component with numeric buttons. When a desired code is entered it will open the gates. Can be finished in aluminium, Stainless Steel, Chrome and be flush or surface mounted. \they can be built into a combination unit comprising of both Entry phone & Keypad. They can be programmed from the outside of the unit and can have 29/100 different user codes.

INDUCTION LOOPS
An invisible sensor fitted under the drive which when a vehicle drives over will open the gates. These are man made and are usually buried under the drive in a neat groove cut in the drive with a disc cutter in the shape of a triangle or rectangle. They detect the presence of large metal objects only. This will be a vehicle and when the loop detects a car it can do two things, it can open the gates and can also reopen and hold open when the gates are closing. The latter will be used as a safety loop.

This is a nice option as it is a very discreet way of stopping gates closing on cars without any equipment being on show. The other option is to use it as an entry or exit loop. In turn this allows vehicles to enter and exit which automatically opens the gates. These can also be controlled by putting this function through a simple timer to allow the gates to open only in a timed period; this function is commonly used to stop the loop working in the hours of darkness which prevents an intruder who steals your car from driving your vehicle away.

Exit loops are ideal for long drives where the gates are not in view from the house or when there is a lot of traffic.

Loops are labor intensive to fit as the drive is cut, or in the case of blocked paving the drive is lifted, the loop laid and refilled with resin, or blocks re-laid, then interfaced with a loop control board connected to the gate controls.

ENTRY PHONE
A system allowing two way speech and gate open command. Very similar to an intercom system. A phone in the house is hard wired to a speech unit on the pier.

VIDEO PHONE
Same as an entry phone but the system is enhanced with a camera and mini TV screen built into the phone.

Cable installation price can only be quoted once we know how much is needed (following a survey). Prices will vary as it is the work involved in running the cable route underground or above ground and the work involved routing the cable into the house.

WIRELESS ENTRY PHONE
These are similar to your cordless telephone in the house, they rely on a base station installed at the gates and a call panel mounted on the gate pier, the phone and the controller are battery operated and trickle charged via a power supply, the advantage is there are no wires and the phone can be taken anywhere in the house or garden. They work very well in most cases and have a range from gate to phone of approx 50/100m. Sometimes we don`t recommend this application if there is a lot of trees, steel and structures in the way as this can reduce the range significantly. These units can come with single call buttons or multiple up to 3 call buttons for different locations.

TELGUARD ENTRY PHONE SYSTEM
A system that is connected directly to a BT line at the gate and has its own telephone no. No cabling required from gate to house, flats. A very efficient system ideally for multiple residency or if your house is a very long distance from the gate i.e. quarter mile. Imagine the cabling required if it was for a development of many houses/flats.

When the caller calls it will activate your home telephone and you will speak then depress the hash button on the phone which will open the gates. There is the facility to hold the gates open as well (only recommended for single occupancy) the occupier will arrange for BT to provide a line and phone socket in our gate control unit.

We simply install the Telguard call panel within the pier; connect it to the phone socket and request Telguard who are based at their offices in Surrey to remotely programme the telephone numbers into the unit and then it works.

There is a running cost involve with the Telguard system, this will be the quarterly line rental from BT for the line which is shared by all. The other very small cost incurred is when you pick up your phone to talk to your guest you will be charged for the duration of that call on your own phone bill. If you were away on holiday and diverted your home phone to your mobile you can receive the caller and let him in or let the caller leave a message on your voice mail.

GSM ENTRYPHONE
The very latest mobile technology that is proving very popular. This system uses a pay as you go sim card and the call panel will call your home phone and allow you to activate the hash button to open the gates or in the event of no one being in will automatically divert to a second number of your choice. No line rental, no wires, just the cost of a pay as you go sim card from a provider that works well in your area.

TRADESMAN BUTTON
This is a facility where an external button on its own or incorporated in a speech unit on the entryphone can be linked with a timer to allow timed entry and exit for the trades.

PHOTOCELL PROTECTION
All systems already incorporate a pair of photobeams in the kit. These beams are mounted on the gate pier and when the beam is broken the gates will stop closing and re-open. Unlike the induction loops, photobeams will activate when any physical object breaks the beam whilst the gate is closing.

These beams can also be used for many other applications ie. For opening the gates or for actuating a light or even by placing more beams in unprotected areas by the gate for further safety.

SAFETY EDGES
These come in bespoke lengths and are made of rubber; they come in many thicknesses and provide the ultimate in safety for protecting areas that can cause harm by crushing, shearing and dragging. They are designed to stop the gate if something comes into contact with the safety edge.

We use these in areas where the hinge side of a gate has a reducing gap when the gate is in motion, sometimes on the last gate leaf that closes and always used on sliding gates.

KEYSWITCH
A very economical solution for providing other users with a means of operating the gates. The keyswitch is a lock mounted in a purpose built housing and a key inserted just like putting your front door key in the lock and when it is turned it operates a microswitch which activates the open command.

GSM KEY MODULE
A small component that is fitted within the control box and loaded with a sim card with its own phone no. Simply call the unit from a landline or mobile phone and then press the hash button to open the gates.