Automatic and electric gates: what we cover
An automatic gate is a driveway gate that a motor opens and closes, worked by a remote, a keypad or an app on your phone. Electric gate means the same thing. The motor is what makes it automatic, so every job in this section has one: adding a motor to the gate you already have, choosing a motor for a new gate, or getting a stopped one moving again.
A gate with no motor, and no plan for one, is a fencing job rather than a door specialist's, and it is not one we pass on.
Sliding gate or swing gate
Start with the space you have. Merlin, which makes openers for both kinds, describes a sliding gate as one that rolls on wheels along a ground track and parks against the fence, and a swing gate as one that needs open space for the full sweep of each leaf. It presents sliding as the space saver for wide entries and compact driveways.
A swing gate needs that sweep kept clear, so a slope, a parked car or a garden bed inside the gateway all matter. Read more on sliding gate motors, swing gate openers and solar gate openers.
What decides the motor: weight and power
Gate motors are rated by the weight of gate they can move, and the figure varies a lot between models. Published limits for sliding motors run from 500kg for CENTSYS's D5-Evo to 800kg for ATA's Neoslider. Solid infill adds a lot of weight compared with open slats, so say what your gate is made of as well as how wide it is.
Power is the other half. A motor can run from mains, from solar, or from a battery kept topped up by either, and Merlin sells a rural range built to run on solar for gates far from the house.
Power at the gate is a licensed electrician's job
If the motor needs mains power at the gate, getting it there is electrical work. Across Australia electrical work needs the correct electrical licence for the job, so a new circuit, a new outlet at the gate or hard wiring to the motor goes to a licensed electrician.
When you tell us the job, say whether there is power near the gate now. It changes what the door specialist plans for, and it can make solar worth a look.
Remotes, keypads and phone control
Most gates run from a remote, but a keypad, a camera or an app can sit alongside it. ATA lists keypads and cameras among its gate opener add-ons, CENTSYS runs its V-Series swing motors from its MyCentsys Remote app, and B&D says its app can control compatible gates as well as garage doors, across more than one property.
Gates need safety beams and sensing
A motorised gate is heavy and moves with nobody touching it. CENTSYS says its D5-Evo watches for obstructions as anti-crushing protection, and ATA sells safety beams to go with its gate openers. Keep children, pets and bikes out of the gateway while the gate is moving, and teach visitors to wait until it has stopped.
What to tell the door specialist about your gate
- Whether it slides or swings, and for a swing gate, one leaf or two
- What it is made of and roughly how wide the opening is
- Whether it moves easily when pushed, or drags and catches
- Where the nearest power is, and how much sun reaches the gatepost
- How you want to open it: remotes, a keypad, your phone, or all three
What we would do
Settle how you want to open the gate before anyone picks a motor. If phone control is on your list, ask for safety beams in the same quote: Merlin says its myQ app needs Safety IR Beams fitted before it will run a gate, and adding beams later means a second visit.