Electric Gate Automation in Porto and Greater Porto

Sliding or Swing Gate: the Motor Isn't the Same

A sliding gate moves sideways along a track or hangs from a cantilever, and is driven by a motor whose pinion meshes with a toothed rack fixed to the gate. What determines the motor is the weight and the condition of the wheels or rollers: a heavy gate with worn wheels needs a bigger motor than the same gate kept in good order, and two years on it will demand even more.

A swing gate opens on leaves, and here the length of each leaf matters more than the weight, because the effort is all in the leverage. Long leaves or leaves exposed to the wind, which is very common along the coastal strip from Matosinhos to Leça, need reinforced arms and firmly anchored mechanical stops.

That is why we don't quote for gate automation over the phone. Measuring the leaf, checking the hinges and seeing whether the gate moves smoothly by hand is what separates an automation that lasts ten years from one that gives trouble in its first winter. A gate that already moves badly by hand will move even worse with a motor.

Safety: What Is Compulsory and Why

An automated gate is a machine with enough force to injure someone, so it comes with requirements that are not optional. Photocells detect an obstacle in the gate's path and tell it to stop or reverse. Obstruction detection on the control board does the same when something blocks the movement outside the photocells' field of view.

Two things are missing from almost every installation we come across: mechanical end stops, which prevent the gate coming off its track if the electronics fail, and a manual release that is accessible and that people know about. Very often it exists, but nobody in the household knows where it is or how to use it, and they find out with the car stuck inside during a power cut.

Where there are children or pedestrians passing close to the gate, this stops being a formality. At the end of every installation we explain and rehearse the manual release with the client, and that isn't a courtesy: it is the difference between a breakdown and a real problem.

The Usual Faults, and the One Hardly Anyone Connects

It no longer responds to the remote. Nine times out of ten it is the remote's battery, or a receiver that lost its memory after a power cut. It takes minutes to fix.

It opens but won't close. This is the textbook symptom of misaligned or dirty photocells. The system thinks someone is standing in the way and refuses to close: it is working correctly, just reading the wrong information. Often all it takes is cleaning the lenses and realigning them.

It works, then stops for a few minutes. The usual cause here is the motor overheating and its thermal cut-out tripping, which points to excessive strain: worn wheels, dry hinges, a gate that is out of square. Replacing the motor without tackling the cause is paying for the same problem all over again.

Apartment Building Gates and Shared Access

With the garage gate of an apartment building, the challenge shifts from mechanics to access management: how many remotes are out there, who holds them, and what happens when someone sells their flat or loses one.

A receiver with manageable memory lets you delete one specific remote without reprogramming all the others. That is exactly what is usually missing, and it is why so many condomínios (owners' associations) have remotes circulating with no control at all.

We also integrate gates with the video door phone, so the gate can be opened from the handset inside each flat. If you are renewing the intercom, see our page on door entry intercoms and video door phones: deciding both at the same time avoids running cable twice.

Maintenance: What Makes a Gate Motor Last Ten Years

A gate motor doesn't fail out of the blue; it wears down. And what wears it down is hardly ever the electronics: it is the mechanics of the gate itself. Worn wheels and rollers, a track full of dirt and sand, dry hinges and a gate out of square force the motor to work ever harder until the thermal cut-out starts tripping.

The maintenance that matters is simple and yearly: clean the track, lubricate what needs lubricating, check the rack is tight, clean and realign the photocells, and test the manual release. That last step is the one most often forgotten, and the one that saves the most hassle on the day the power goes off.

Along the coast from Matosinhos to Leça there is also corrosion to reckon with: salt air attacks screws, tracks and housings, and a gate motor that lasts ten years inland may not last five just two hundred metres from the beach. It is worth factoring that in when choosing the equipment, rather than discovering it afterwards.

My gate has stopped working. Is it the motor or the electrics?

It could be either. Before replacing the gate operator we check the power supply, the protective devices, the photocells and the remotes. In many cases the motor is fine and the problem is the power supply or sensors that are dirty or misaligned.

Can you automate a gate I already have?

Yes, most swing and sliding gates can be automated as long as the structure is in good condition. We assess the weight, the play and the state of the tracks before recommending any equipment.

Are photocells compulsory?

They are the safety device that stops the gate closing on a person, an animal or a car. We always recommend them, and in new installations they should be part of the package.

Can you connect the gate to my phone?

Yes, using GSM or Wi-Fi modules depending on the operator. We also fit extra remotes, code keypads and video door phones linked to the gate.

Can an old gate be automated, or do I need a new one?

In most cases it can, provided the structure is straight and it runs smoothly by hand. A warped gate with worn wheels or hinges out of alignment should be repaired first: a motor doesn't correct the defect, it magnifies it and eventually burns out.

What happens in a power cut? Will I be locked in?

No. Every gate operator has a manual release, and we show you where it is and how to use it when the installation is finished. Where the gate is the only way in or out, we advise a backup battery, which keeps a few openings and closings going without mains power.

Can I open the gate from my mobile?

You can, by adding a network module to the control board. It works well for a house. In an apartment building it needs a joint decision, because access becomes shared and someone has to be put in charge of managing permissions.