Electric Driveway Gates powered by Solar Power

General Discussion
1

Looking for some advice on this subject.

I have a driveway opening that is about 5.5 meters wide. I want to put some gates on the 2 pillars I have at either side and was looking to see if anyone had any experience or knowledge of a good electric opener that is Solar Powered (preferably with a battery pack for night operation). If it has to be powered by a electric cable that is ok as I am having an my electrics done soon and will have a mains board installed into my Garange for all external power

No gates as yet I will need to buy or make these and i want a opening mechanism that is a good choice to fit myself if possible.

The gates need to be Swing Gates

2

I didn’t do the installation but this is the system I have on my gates which are aluminium of the size you need.

The link is actually for a 4 metre set but they do various packages.

3

Our gate motors are Somfy and they’re good; they came with battery back up. We don’t have solar ones though.

4

Neither are mine, but I was impressed that the presence of the dog having a shufty stopped them in their tracks. :joy:

The company is AAH in Perigueux and they may well do solar.

5

Thank you all for the reply, link and recommendation.

I also have a child and dog so if it has a anti-trap capability that will be perfect. Solar was the wish list but not essential as i can run a cable when I have the electrician in re-cabling the house

6

Thank you for the link, I can shorten the distance if needed 4 meters would still be big enough for my car and van

7

A very handy thread this, I’ve been wondering about doing the same !

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8

Pedantic electrician here. Such a system always uses the battery to operate the gates - the solar is just there to charge the battery. Given how much work the gate motors have to do compared to the input from solar you have a happy combination.

If you can keep with autonomous power for the gates it will prove useful in a power cut. However you might want to install control cabling back to the house to allow for remote operation via an entryphone etc.

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9

Totally different topic. I was in the UK recently and had to send a letter to the tax office in France. I paid post office £9 for international tracking. Value of letter £0. I tracked the letter and was presented with a €4 customs charge before La Poste would deliver it. I know things changed with BREXIT but I’ve never paid duty on a letter in either direction before. Is this right?

10

Did you put a customs label on it? It seems that a customs label drives an admin charge, even if no duty is payable, and letters don’t need them.

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11

No, no customs label.

12

You’re not kidding, can’t you find even the remotest connection to electric gates? (See what I did there? :joy:

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13

Thank you, I understand that the solar panel will recharge the battery which would need to be able to hold enough charge to operate the gates.

I did speak with my electrician that is going to rewire the house for me and install the new distribution board. He will include adding a separate fuse for the gates and quote to include a wire for the gates and I would install a battery system as well so as to cover any blackout periods

It may be that i forget the solar option for the gates and just go with a hardwired system that will be powered by the solar panels I am looking to install next year which will include 2 or 3 batteries

14

If so, why not start a new topic???

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15

Given you have contributed nothing to either query on this thread I’m somewhat surprised you bothered to make this suggestion.

16

There’s only one query on this thread, about solar gates. Plus there’s someone on about postage :joy:

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17

Picking up on the Somfy gates - for the set marked by CaptainMorgan, I am unsure if this includes a solar capability (including battery pack). On the description of that set,m it does mention :

  1. 1 jeu de cellules photoélectriques
  2. 1 batterie de secours

And I cannot understand if the ‘cellules photoélectriques’ relate to anything Solar Power or not.

There is a separate set of solar panel + battery etc with this, from Somfy:

Interesting if anyone has bought this (at 700 EUR) and their opinion on post-fitting it.

I would be interested in the benefits / mechanics of fitting it and performance - as well as fitting any Somfy kit to existing metal swing gates. My existing swing gates are quite old and large.

18

Certainly the list you posted shows solar panel and battery, battery a good idea just in case of a power cut. Weight of swing gates is very important for longevity of the motor, if in doubt go larger on the motor.

19

Cellules photoélectriques are the sensors that stop the gate closing on an obstacle. As for the weight of the gates, as previously mentioned fit a larger motor/mechanism or jockey wheels on each of the gates.