Solar Powered

Solar powered gate motors have the distinct advantages of: costing nothing to run, are more affordable in most cases to install than power cabling, are environmentally friendly and if the mains power goes out the gate will still work. 

How Solar Gate Motors Work

The motor doesn't run directly off the Solar Panel, it actually runs off a battery that is kept charged by the solar panel. This way the gate will still work at night. The charging of the battery is controlled by an electronic charge control unit that is normally part of a control box although can also be separate and makes sure the battery isn't overcharged or discharged necessarily.

Solar Panel Placement

The solar panel must be in a position where it gets full sun all day (if the sun is out all day) and in the southern hemisphere must face North or in the northern Hemisphere must face South where it gets the most possible sun in a day. 

If the gate isn't in a sunny spot 

The solar panel may be installed away from the gate where there is plenty of sun and a low voltage cable run back to the gate.  This cable need only be light duty as it is only for a trickle charge from the solar panel.  

If you have no sunny spot anywhere near your gate 

You'll either have to install much larger solar panels, a wind turbine or run low voltage cable over quite some distance to where ever mains power is available or where there is a sunny spot. The longer the cable the thicker it is to minimise voltage drop.

Adding Extra Devices to a Solar Gate Motor

The size of the Solar Panel and Battery that comes with a solar gate motor are normally more than enough even on cloudy days but when adding extra devices careful consideration of how much power they use is important otherwise the battery can run flat and the gate will stop working. 

A guide for adding different devices is as follows:

• Digital keypads that are wired generally use too much power for a solar gate system, its better to use a wireless keypad that is compatible with the gate motor so no extra devices need to be wired to the gate control Box ... READ MORE About Wireless Digital Keypads
• Intercoms powered from a solar gate motor generally use too much power so a larger solar panel and battery should be used with the gate motor or a separate solar power system added ... READ MORE about Intercoms for Gates  
• Electric Locks on Automatic Swing Gates - Magnetic locks draw too much power for a solar system so always use an electric strike lock that only draws a small amount of power when the gate is first activated ... READ MORE about electric locks for automatic gates.
• Photocells connected to a solar gate motor all the time will run the battery flat so its best to connect them up so they are only powered when the gate is in use. Some controls have a connection for this on the control board others have a light output that can be used ... READ MORE About Safety Photocells
• In Ground Vehicle Detectors need to be powered all the time so Solar Friendly Detectors or Probes should be used that draw very little power ... READ MORE about In Ground Vehicle Detectors.

What happens if a Solar Gate Battery does run flat?

If the battery of a solar system or any system that runs off a battery starts to get a little low the gate will run noticeably slower than normal and may stop short or reverse when it shouldn't. It's not going to suddenly stop and leave you stranded. Worst case is if you come home and go to open the gate but it only opens a little bit because the battery has run flat then at least you will still be able to walk in an manually release the gate if you have no other way of getting in.

Disadvantages of Solar Power Gate Motors

One thing with solar powered automatic gates is if the battery does run flat it must be charged before the motor will work, the motor cannot run directly off the solar panel. Also batteries do have a limited life span of 3 to 5 years. Ok a replacement battery isn't expensive and they are available on this website here or at most automotive, battery, alarm and electronics shops and if you are able to remove the lid of the motor, unplug the battery and plug a new one in then you can do it your self and don't need to pay a technician to do this for you.

See also: Solar Panel and Battery SystemsSolar Sliding Gate Motors Solar Swing Gate Motors   Ask for Help with Solar Gate Systems

Low Voltage Systems

Plugging a transformer into a power point away from the gate then installing low voltage cable out to the gate can be a lot more economic to install than a power point at the gate.  Low voltage systems generally have a Backup Battery at the gate that allows the low voltage cable to be lighter duty as the backup battery picks up any drop in voltage that may occur with a lighter duty cable and keeps the battery working too for reliable operation if the power fails.

... READ MORE about installing low voltage cable 

If running Low Voltage cable without a battery low voltage DC requires a smaller cable size than AC but the cable must be water proof otherwise the copper in the cable can dissolve.

Plug In at the Gate

If running a mains power cable out to your gate isn't an issue it is a good idea to have a small side gate or some other way to get into your property so if there is a power cut and you're out you can gain access to the property to manually release the driveway gate and open it by hand.  If this isn't practical then a battery backup is recommended, which is normally an option or comes with most 12V and 24V gate motors (operators).

If installing 240V mains power to your gate it can either by hard wired into the control box or a power point can be installed next to the motor. For swing gates a power point can go on the wall or fence next to the gate. For sliding gates the power point must go behind the gate not on the fence or wall, the power point can be fitted to the guide post if there is one or on a small post next to the motor.

Advantages of hard wiring mains power to a gate motor is it can't easily be turned off by mistake and if there are dogs on the property they can't chew through the power cord. The disadvantage is if you ever want to turn the power off the motor for any reason it's not so easy to do so, which means having to put it on a separate circuit breaker on the switch board or isolating switch some where although these must be clearly labelled with labels that won't fade over time. 

Battery Back up for Mains Powered Gates

If installing power at your gate and you'd like a battery back up most 12V and 24V Gate motors have this option although to be reliable the controller should condition the battery during normal use so it will in fact work in the rare event that a power cut may occur.  Battery conditioning is when the gate starts moving some power is drawn form the battery each time so the battery chemistry stays good.  The battery is kept charged automatically by the gate motors control electronics an should be replaced every 3 to 5 years.

Battery Back up for Large Numbers of Users

Automatic gates for Gated Communities or Housing Complex's need a larger battery back up system because of the larger number of users and the fact that a person to manually release the gate may not be around at the time.  Another option is if the power goes off the gate will automatically open with the battery back up and then shuts down waiting for the power to come back on again so it can return to normal operation. This option uses a much smaller battery backup but security is lost during power failure.