Gate Operators and Access Control, Explained

An automated entrance is priced as the operator and the controls, and each comes in options. The controls can be keypads, card readers, remotes, a phone app, or vehicle loops. On a gate that is already there, the operator and the controls together run $5,000 to $10,000 and up installed.

The operator

A pad-mounted operator sits on a concrete pad beside a rolling gate and drives it along its track. A swing-arm operator mounts at the hinge post and pushes the leaf through its arc.

The size of the unit follows the weight of the gate and how many times a day it opens, between deliveries, tenants and the trash truck. A gate that cycles all day takes a unit rated for continuous duty. We install Maximum Controls and LiftMaster operators.

The controls

The controls come in these options:

• A keypad, with one code for the site or a code per person.
• Card readers, where the site already runs badges or fobs.
• Remotes, for the vehicles that use the gate every day.
• A phone app, which opens the gate from anywhere and logs who came through. It runs on a cellular plan billed by the provider, from about $39 a month.
• Vehicle loops, cut into the pavement so the gate opens for a vehicle leaving and will not close on one sitting in the opening.

A site can combine several of them. A gate can also be set to open on a schedule instead of a code, which suits a site that runs the same hours every day.

Safety and first-responder access

Photo eyes and edge sensors watch the opening and stop the gate when something breaks the beam or touches the edge. They are part of the standard install.

How the fire department gets in is a separate decision. A Knox key switch at the entrance opens the gate with the agency’s own key, and it runs about $950 and up installed. A Click2Enter receiver opens the gate off the radio already in the responder’s truck, so the vehicle never stops at the keypad and the agency buys nothing. An operator can also be set to open on its own when the power drops and the battery runs down. A site can carry more than one of these. The fire department for your address decides which.

Tying into a system you already run

If the property already runs access control, the gate joins it instead of replacing it. You or your access control company supply the latch or strike hardware the system uses, we build and hang the gate and set the hardware to it, and the system you already have keeps handling the credentials. The same split works with a low-voltage contractor: we do the gate and the operator, they do the controls.

What a setup costs

The operator, the controls, and how far the power is drive the number. On a gate that is already there the operator and the entry side run $5,000 to $10,000 and up installed. An operator on your power, with loops, a keypad, a Knox key switch and two remotes, runs $6,900 to $7,000. Solar and smart entry each move it up.

The gate is priced separately. A rolling gate on V-track runs $2,100 to $2,700 and a double swing gate $4,500 to $5,000.

How the install runs

A standard install is the operator, the photo eyes and edge sensors, and two remotes. Your electrician brings power to the gate, and our technician mounts, wires and programs the system.

Most operators run on power from your panel. Where the nearest panel is far enough that trenching costs more than the operator, the operator runs on solar instead, with the panel and battery at the gate. We install new operators we can warranty rather than troubleshooting an aging one part by part. If the gate itself drags or is damaged, that gets fixed first, and that is gate repair.