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Hardwire or Solar?
With advancements in technology, solar has become a big contender when it comes to power. Newer operators are typically low power consuming DC operating units which means an efficient and low power draw. This in combination with solar makes a constant and reliable setup without the expensive alternative of hard wiring
What if I have little to no sun exposure where the gate is being automated?
This is generally not a problem as the location of the panel can be mounted to where there is adequate sun exposure.
Is solar as powerful as direct wire?
As the units do not run off the solar panels directly but rather internal battery storage, the power from the solar panel is not relative to the power of the operator. Either direction will operate the same.
But I don't want a solar panel being an eye sore to my gate.
When people think of solar, they think of a large clunky panel based on what they have seen on houses. In fact the solar panel used is no larger than a small bag of dog food. Woof woof.
(Approx 2' x 1') for most applications. Majority of time the panel can be mounted discretely out of view.
Isn't it more expensive to go solar?
For residential solar is actually a more cost effective solution and far cheaper than having an electrician out to run power to the operators. Though we have done commercial (Apartment complexes) set up as solar, in a high traffic area with hundreds of cycles a day we recommend hard wiring to the operators.
What if there is no sun out, will my gate stop working?
This is a common misconception with solar operators as you would be led to think your operator would stop working in shade or no sun conditions. Your operator will still be operational on battery backup for 60-80 complete cycles until needing a further charge. Most residential only use their gates at most 5X a day. The operator is engineered to run off of the batteries for operation. The panel is solely a trickle charge to the batteries and even in slight shade conditions will be either maintaining or charging.
How long do the panels last?
Most solar panels start reducing efficiency after 20 years. Down to approx 80% production vs a new panel.