The safety of an automated gate is only as good as the safety devices protecting its risk zones. BS EN 12453 requires that every relevant risk zone of an automated gate be addressed through appropriate safety measures. This guide explains all three principal hardware solutions so you can assess whether your current installation is properly protected.
Infrared Photocells: The Invisible Beam Safety System
Infrared photocells are the most common electric gate safety devices on London residential installations. They work by projecting an invisible infrared beam between a transmitter unit on one gate post and a receiver unit on the opposite post.
When the beam is broken — by a person, pet, vehicle, or any other object passing through the gate opening during gate travel — the control board receives a signal and immediately stops and reverses the gate. Photocells are excellent at detecting objects in the main gate opening. Their limitation is that they only protect the plane of the beam — an object crouching below a single beam height, or positioned in the hinge zone rather than in the main opening, may not be detected.
For residential swing gates, photocells are typically installed at a height of 0.5 metres — the height at which a child or pet is most likely to be present. A second beam at 1.0 metre adds protection at an adult mid-torso level. Both heights are referenced in BS EN 12453 as the positions at which safety must be demonstrated.
Resistive Safety Edges: Contact-Based Protection at the Closing Edge
Safety edges address a risk zone that photocells cannot protect: the closing edge of the gate itself. A resistive safety edge is a rubber or foam-encapsulated strip fitted along the closing edge of the gate leaf. Inside the strip is an electrical contact. When the edge makes contact with any object and is compressed, the contact closes, sending a signal to the control board. The gate immediately stops and reverses.
Safety edges are particularly important for the secondary closing edge of double swing gates — the point where the two leaves meet in the centre. This is a shearing and crushing risk zone that a main photocell beam typically cannot protect.
The Gate Safe charity — the UK's leading authority on automated gate safety — specifically highlights safety edges as an essential complement to photocells on residential installations, noting that photocell-only installations leave the closing edge risk zone unaddressed.
Ground Loops: Vehicle Detection to Prevent Gate Closure on a Car
Ground loops are a vehicle detection technology that is standard on commercial gate installations and increasingly specified on high-end London residential properties. A ground loop is a loop of wire embedded in the driveway surface. When a vehicle is present over the loop, its metal mass induces a change in the loop electrical inductance, which the detector unit reads as a vehicle presence signal.
The principal safety function is to prevent the gate from closing on a vehicle that is still in the gate opening. Ground loops also serve an access control function: they can be configured to trigger the gate to open automatically when a vehicle approaches, eliminating the need to use a remote to exit.
For secure gate installations in London, our engineers assess the risk profile of every site and specify the combination of photocells, safety edges, and loop detectors appropriate to the gate type and usage pattern.
If your existing electric gates were installed without safety edges, without photocells at both 0.5 metre and 1.0 metre heights, or without a ground loop on an automatic-close system, a safety hardware upgrade should be a priority. Leave your phone number in the form above and our team will arrange a fast callback to assess your current installation and quote for any necessary upgrades.
