When planning changes to your home, it is worth consulting a professional who can best advise on which automation system to choose for your gate. Experts Andrzej Trojanowski from FAAC Polska and Grzegorz Byśkiniewicz from Bramstal discuss which operator to choose and how to install it.
Editorial team logistyka.net.pl: What should you know when choosing an operator for a gate that has been opened manually until now?
Andrzej Trojanowski, FAAC Polska: First of all, you need to know what type of gate you are going to automate: sliding or swing, the length of the gate leaf, and whether it is a heavy gate, e.g., made of wrought iron, or a standard openwork one. With this information, it is best to go to a professional who will select the appropriate operator and technical parameters for the gate, take measurements, and install it correctly.
Editorial team: Is every residential gate suitable for installing automation?
Grzegorz Byśkiniewicz, Bramstal: As a rule, yes. If it is a gate that has served us well so far when opened manually, it will also serve us well when opened automatically. Of course, we exclude very old, rusty gates that are difficult to open even manually. These require additional adaptation work or a complete overhaul.
Editorial team: What about garage doors? Can every door opened manually so far have automation installed, or does it need to be replaced for an operator?
G.B.: Every garage door can also have an operator installed. You just need to choose the right one. There are operators available for garage doors that open in various ways: up-and-over, roller – opening upwards like a roller blind, sectional overhead, sectional side (the door slides onto the side wall), and folding – when the door folds like an accordion. Even for a classic swing garage door, you can choose the right operator.
Editorial team: Does installing gate automation require many adaptation changes, and can it be done yourself?
A.T.: You should not install automation yourself; this type of work requires a professional who has experience in installation. Whether there will be many adaptation changes for the automation depends on the prior preparation of the property and the gate. However, FAAC offers some actuators which, due to their tubular design and the way the gate is mounted from the so-called front, are very easy to install, and adaptation changes are minimal.
Editorial team: What problems can occur during the installation of a gate operator, and how can one avoid such problems?
G.B.: Such problems should not occur if the operator is installed by a professional. Otherwise, these can be typical installation problems: something doesn’t work because it was installed incorrectly, or there is improper power supply, or protection is connected incorrectly. A professional knows that the power supply should be protected by a residual current device. A layman does not know this. During installation, you must also consider the selection of the operator for the gate. If the drive is for a specific weight, we must add another 200-300 kg due to weather conditions. If we don’t do this, the automation simply won’t work. So, for a 200 kg gate, you should choose an operator for up to 500 kg.
Editorial team: And what are the operating costs of an automatically opened gate?
A.T.: The cost of operating the automation is minimal; thanks to highly efficient mechanics, modern drives have low power consumption. The only expense is the cost of replacing the battery in the remote control, which needs to be done once every few years.
Editorial team: Do automatic gates have any safety features to prevent accidents, e.g., crushing small children?
A.T.: Modern drives are equipped with anti-crushing protection. FAAC products have sensitive check valves that reverse the gate leaf if an obstacle is encountered. Additional protection is provided by infrared photocells, which remotely detect an obstacle in the path of the gate and stop it.
Editorial team: How to take care of the automation, and can we count on service in case of any failure after a year of using the device?
A.T.: FAAC operators enjoy high reliability, which is why we give our customers a 2-year warranty period. After this period, a service inspection once a year is sufficient. As for the maintenance of the operator, first of all, you should clear the driveway of snow in winter so that the operator doesn’t have to do it for us.
Editorial team: And what are the operating costs of an automatically opened gate?
A.T.: The cost of operating the automation is minimal; thanks to highly efficient mechanics, modern drives have low power consumption. The only expense is the cost of replacing the battery in the remote control, which needs to be done once every few years.
Editorial team: Do automatically closing gates have any safety features to prevent accidents, e.g., crushing small children?
A.T.: Modern drives are equipped with anti-crushing protection. FAAC products have sensitive check valves that reverse the gate leaf if an obstacle is encountered. Additional protection is provided by infrared photocells, which remotely detect an obstacle in the path of the gate and stop it.
Editorial team: How to take care of the automation, and can we count on service in case of any failure after a year of using the device?
A.T.: FAAC operators enjoy high reliability, which is why we give our customers a 2-year warranty period. After this period, a service inspection once a year is sufficient. As for the maintenance of the operator, first of all, you should clear the driveway of snow in winter so that the operator doesn’t have to do it for us.