High Energy vs. Low Energy
Power Operators – also known as automatic door openers – are devices that open doors for persons with disabilities. They are available in two main varieties:
- High Energy
- Low Energy
High energy power operators are installed by AAADM (American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers) certified technicians and are used in high traffic applications like hospital emergency room entrances, supermarkets, and large office buildings. They are used on both swinging and sliding doors. If your application demands a high energy power operator, you should call a door control or automatic door company. You should do this because a high energy power operator improperly installed could injure someone.
Low energy power operators can be installed by non-AAADM certified technicians and are used on swinging doors in lower frequency applications such as a small doctor’s office with 2 doctors, a separate entrance dedicated to persons with disabilities or otherwise subject to occasional use, an apartment entrance, or the entrance to an apartment building housing no more than 10 or 12 units.
If a low energy power operator encounters and obstacle, it will stop, and so it is less likely to injure a person. High energy power operators are more powerful and require safety sensors to ensure that no one is in the path of the door as the operator shuts it.
Aside from wiring and safety accessories, power operator can be as easy to install as a regular door closer.
Basic Wiring
The drawing above shows basic wiring for a power operator system. Power operators usually run on house current – around 115VAC – however, there are some low-voltage power operators as well. Two-conductor wire runs from each actuator to separate inputs on the internal control board of the power operator. When a user activates the actuator, usually by pushing on it, the power operator starts its door opening cycle. Some power operators have a low voltage output to run an electric strike, and most have dry contacts that allow the installer to use a separate power supply to run their electric locking device as shown in the drawing. The power operator control board will activate the electric strike before opening the door.
System Components
A power operator system includes the power operator and activation devices (called “actuators”). A power operator on a swinging door can have an internal activation device, in which case the power operator is said to have “push and go” operation: a user simply starts pushing or pulling the door open and the power operator is activated.
Field conditions such as consecutive swinging doors and/or locking doors may require special equipment. If you are applying a power operator to an existing door that currently shuts and locks and you want the door to continue to shut and lock automatically, the power operator will need to have the capability to unlock the door before it opens it. If you have consecutive doors, for example, in a vestibule situation, the power operator may need to have the capability to open the doors sequentially. Many power operators have an internal logic board that will enable it to perform these operations internally. Aftermarket logic boards are available to achieve advanced functions not achievable with the internal logic board.
Incidental to the installation of the power operator, any locks that need to work with the power operator will need to be electrified. Electrification may be as simple as installing an electric strike, or, particularly when pairs of doors are involved, my require exit devices with electric latch retraction.
Actuators
Actuators are normally open, momentary contact switches. Any normally open, momentary contact switch can act as an actuator for a power operator. For example, one can use an access control panel to activate a power operator. One can also use a handheld wireless transmitter and receiver.
An actuator starts the door opening cycle. Two are typically required for each power operator. Usually these are mounted on the wall, one on the inside of the door, one on the outside. This allows folks to use the power operator on the way out as well as on the way in.
There are a wide variety of actuator styles available. The most common ones are four-and-a-half inches square and have “PUSH TO OPEN” and the wheelchair logo engraved on them. The largest ones are circular, six inches in diameter. These provide disabled persons with a big target to hit when they need to open the door. There are also touchless actuators (see picture below) that are activated by a wave of the hand – an option that prevents the spread of germs via the actuators. Smaller actuators are made to fit on door frames. Most actuators can be installed flush with the wall or in a surface mounted back box.
Actuators can be wireless. This makes sense if there is no locking device involved and stone or brick walls make running wires very difficult; however, when there is a locking device involved the installer is already running wires, so wireless actuators make less sense. The downside to wireless actuators is that they are battery operated. Periodically the battery will die and so will the actuator. But in some situations they are worth the upkeep because of the difficulty of running wires. In order to use wireless actuators, the power operator must be equipped with a wireless receiver. Most power operator manufacturers offer the wireless option.
Instead of actuators, a motion detector (such as the MS Sedco pedestrian door sensor below) can be used to activate the power operator. Weatherproof versions are available for outdoor use.
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