Automatic Gate Standards Have Changed

Is your automatic gate UL325 compliant?

What is UL325? And what does it mean to you as a homeowner and/or business owner?

By building code all automatic gates and garage door must have a pedestrian safety device and inherent entrapment sensor.  This means all automatic gates must be equipped with a safety photo beam protecting the gate opening.  These safety photo beams will reverse the gate when a obstruction crosses this beam.

These photo electric beams come in many different styles and functions.  Most common are "thru beams" which have a powered sending and receiving unit.

Another popular style is reflective or battery powered sending unit.  A reflective and/or battery powered unit does not require a wire to be run to both sides.

Another safety device built into most control board logic is an entrapment sensor.  This sensor will sense an entrapment between gate leaves and stop the gates motion.  The sensitivity is usually adjustable and should be set as sensitive as possible.  

This can be combined with a Miller's Edge or "bump strip."  Commonly found between elevator doors, when the strip detects an obstruction the gates/doors are triggered to open.

These safety devices are extremely important to the safety of everyone around your gate.  Insurance companies do not like incidents involving an automatic gate with no pedestrian safety.  These pedestrian safety measures are frequently combined with vehicle safety devices.  A vehicle safety loop is a sure way to ensure damage does not occur if a vehicle is in the gate's path.

I hope that this helps our clients understand the importance of working safety devices.  A $200 safety photo beam can save you thousands compared to a lawsuit or denial of homeowner's insurance coverage for an incident.

For more information, call us at 703-763-4283.