The power goes out at 11pm. You’re already in bed. Then you also recall that you have a car parked in the street since you had forgotten to pull it in. 

This very situation occurs more frequently than you would suppose. Power outages do not make themselves known. They occur when you are in a storm and you are in dire need to cover your car. They hit on the Monday morning when you are already late to work. 

The question is, does your gate now become a very costly obstacle or does it continue to work as though nothing has changed. 

Most Gates Just Stop 

The automatic swing gates are left to be manual gates without power backup. The motors lock up. You can not open them using your remote or phone application. Can’t use the keypad either. All the electronics cease to work since none of them are powered by electricity. 

It has some gate motors that have a manual release. You open a panel, flip a key, switch the motor off, and open the gates manually. It may sound easy until you are standing out in the pouring rain at night doing it. Or the clockwork has gone dead as no one has touched it in four years. Or have you lost that special key somewhere as no one pays attention to things they do not use? Heavy gates make this worse. The gates are made of wrought iron with ornamented metal and are heavy. It takes due effort to open them manually. It is not impossible but it is difficult and time-consuming when you are in a hurry to get to your appointment. 

The way Battery Systems work 

Between the mains power and the gate motor are battery backup units. When all is going well, power passes through them as usual. The batteries remain loaded, on the alert. The power drops on the mains and it is replaced by the battery in milliseconds. The gate even does not pay attention to the change. The battery size will dictate your system running time. A simple battery could provide an output of 10-15 gate cycles. Counts are two cycles open and close. Now that suffices to get in and out about seven times before it dies. Decent for short outages. 

With larger battery packs this is extended to 50 cycles or greater. That will take care of you during long power outages of days. In rural districts where outages are frequent some individuals install still larger systems. The battery has the ability to power automatic swing gates throughout a week. 

The solar panels alter the situation altogether. During the day your battery is recharged by the sun, at night the gate is run by it. Mains power is made secondary to backup power. You are actually out of the grid when it comes to gate operation. The issue of power cuts is nullified. 

What Is given Preference when Battery Operated? 

All things do not attract equal amounts of power. The greatest energy is used to open and close the gates. Your motor must cause large weight to move against the wind and gravity. That consumes the battery the most. 

Standby functions consume hardly any power. The control board there waiting to be pressed by you with a button? Negligible drain. Is your intercom in sleep mode? Almost nothing. The WiFi connection to your phone? Tiny amounts. 

This is known to smart battery systems. They maintain the necessary functions but may shut down power-hungry extras. Your gate is opening and closing all right. The LED decoration of the entrance? Possibly that would be switched off to save energy. Your video intercom is still functioning but possibly at a lower resolution. The system makes smart decisions regarding the most important things. 

Certain batteries have surveillance applications. You check your phone and find out precisely what amount of charge you have. Remaining gate cycles. Whether the power failure has been resumed. This prevents you becoming victimised. 

Temperature: Does Temperature Impact Battery Performance? 

Batteries hate extreme cold. Your reserve power works very well in spring, and summer. Then in comes January and the temperatures are minus and your battery capacity becomes 30 percent or 40 percent less. The 50-cycle battery will now allow you only perhaps 30 cycles in a frozen state. 

Different issues are caused by heat. Batteries wear out more quickly when they are kept hot. The life of your backup can be five years in a temperature-controlled garage and three years in a metal box in direct sunshine in summer. When installing these systems, location is an issue. 

Higher quality batteries are more graceful in dealing with temperature fluctuations. Lithium batteries are better in low temperatures than lead-acid. They are more expensive but the difference in performance is felt with your initial winter power outage. 

When Do You really need to invest in a battery backup? 

In the event that power outages occur once in three years in your neighbourhood and are one hour long, battery backup will be excessive. It is likely that you can get by opening your gate manually on those infrequent occasions. 

Varied account when you are in the country somewhere with shaky infrastructure. Power outages after every few months, half a day? Battery backup ceases to be a luxury. It turns into an indispensable equipment. You are paying a price of reliability and peace of mind. 

The equation is altered by medical factors as well. A loved one in your family requires an uninterrupted access to a vehicle due to health issues? Battery backup is no longer optional. Likewise, it is the same when you are working at home and you simply cannot afford to miss video calls since you are stuck behind a non-functioning gate. 

The Question of Cost that No one Wants to Answer 

Simple battery-operated automatic swing gates begin at £200. That is entry-level, smaller capacity, most likely lead-acid battery. Works in the event of short term outages. 

Better capacity lithium battery mid-range systems? You’re looking at £400 to £600. These are more durable, work in low temperatures, and have more cycles per charge. 

High-end systems that are solar-integrated and have giant battery packs? £1,000 to £2,000 based on your particular requirements and the size of the capacity you desire. That is a good amount of money in gate backup power. 

Another £100-300 will be added to installation unless you are sure that you will work with electrical systems yourself. The majority are not and that is likely prudent considering you are dealing with mains electricity and possibly 24-volt electricity. 

At some time, the batteries must be replaced. The life of lead-acid is three to five years. Lithium extends to seven or eight years. Include replacement costs of factors in your long term planning. This is not a single purchase that is everlasting. 

Checking Your Backup Before You Need It 

No one checks his battery backup until power actually goes off. Then they find that it ceased to work half a year ago and no one has noticed. 

Two minutes monthly tests. To simulate power cut, turn your circuit breaker on your gate. Attempt to open and close the gate. Check it responds normally. Flip the power back on. Done. You have checked that your backup is, in fact, working. 

Other systems have a built in mechanism of checking themselves and warns you about something going wrong. The battery is not charging correctly? You get a notification. The ability has deteriorated to unacceptable levels? The system informs you that you are not caught up in an emergency. 

Correct maintenance should involve examination of battery terminals when they are corroded. Ensuring that the backup unit is not wet. Connection checking has not been used to lose its grip. Simple items that will avoid issues in later life.