Driveway gate guide

Driveway gate automation, operators, and smart access

A powered gate is an electrical and access-control system as much as it is a metal project. The operator translates control signals into mechanical motion, the wiring carries the AC and low-voltage signals between the house and the gate, and the access control determines who can open the gate and how. This page covers the operator types we install, how the wiring actually runs, and what smart access integration looks like in 2026.

Operator types, the six options

Operator type	Best for	Mounting	Notes
Linear arm (ram)	Residential swing 8 to 14 ft	Surface-mounted on hinge column	Most common residential spec; serviceable; visible
Articulated arm	Swing where pillars block linear arm	Surface-mounted with jointed arm	Used when pillars sit between hinge and operator anchor
Underground hydraulic	Estate / luxury swing	In a vault under the hinge	Premium aesthetic; higher install cost
Rack-drive	Slide gates 12 to 30 ft	Surface-mounted at receive post	Standard slide spec; rack rail bolts to gate body
Bi-folding	Tight openings, fast cycles	Folding leaf system	Specialty; rare in residential Vancouver
Solar / battery	Off-grid sites; long power runs	Battery + PV panel	Slower cycles; charge management required

Linear arm (ram) operators

The default residential swing gate operator. A linear actuator (electric motor driving an extending arm via leadscrew or worm gear) bolts to the hinge column at one end and to the gate leaf at the other. Open the gate, the arm extends; close the gate, the arm retracts. Most major brands, FAAC, BFT, Nice, LiftMaster, make linear arms in 24V DC and 230V AC versions, sized for leaf weights from 200 kg to 800 kg and leaf lengths up to about 4 m.

Linear arm operators are surface-mounted, fully serviceable from grade, and the most cost-effective automation for a standard residential swing gate. The trade-off is the visible operator and arm, they are part of the visual composition of the gate, which works for industrial and contemporary aesthetics but reads less elegant on heritage estate gates.

Underground hydraulic operators

The premium residential and estate operator. A hydraulic cylinder sits in a waterproofed concrete vault under the hinge column. The cylinder rotates a vertical shaft that connects to the bottom of the gate leaf. From grade, no operator is visible, just the hinge column with the gate leaf attached. Operation is very smooth (hydraulic motion is naturally damped) and very quiet.

The trade-offs: install cost is 2 to 3× the linear arm equivalent because of the vault excavation, drainage, and waterproofing. Service requires opening the vault. And the vault needs reliable drainage, a waterlogged vault destroys the operator. For Metro Vancouver sites this means the site grading and the vault drain detail have to be planned during civil work, not retrofitted later.

Rack-drive slide operators

The standard slide gate operator. A geared electric motor drives a pinion that engages a steel rack rail bolted to the gate body. The motor body bolts to a concrete pad alongside the receive post. As the motor turns, the gate body moves along its track or cantilever truss. Brands and sizing follow the same major operator manufacturers as swing units, sized for gate weights and lengths.

Power supply and wiring

Every powered gate is also a wiring project. Two parallel runs from the house to the gate:

• AC supply (15 to 20A, 120V or 240V): From a dedicated breaker in the house panel through buried conduit (PVC or rigid metal) to the operator pad. Sized for the operator load and any accessories. Conduit depth follows BC Electrical Code (typically 600 mm under driveway, 450 mm elsewhere). Permit and inspection through Technical Safety BC.
• Low-voltage runs: Separate conduit (or a divided conduit) for safety sensor signals, keypad and intercom feeds, camera CAT-6 / fibre, and access control wiring. Low-voltage runs are not regulated like AC but should follow good practice, gel-filled splices, weatherproof junction boxes, separate conduit from AC to avoid interference.

On installs where the house panel is more than ~40 m from the gate, voltage drop on the AC run becomes the constraint and the wire gauge goes up. We coordinate the electrical scope with the licensed electrician at the design stage so the wire and conduit are sized correctly for the actual run.

Access control, the modern stack

Five access methods cover almost every install:

• Keypad: A code-entry pad mounted at the gate or on a pedestal in the driveway. Cheapest base method; codes can be issued and revoked but not easily managed at scale.
• Key fob remote: Physical remote on a keychain. One per resident, easy to use, easy to lose. Dropping support means the fob has to be physically removed.
• Cellular intercom (video): A camera + speaker + button at the gate. Visitor presses the button; the call goes over LTE to the homeowner's phone (no Wi-Fi at the gate required); homeowner sees the visitor, talks to them, and opens the gate from the app. The dominant modern delivery and visitor solution.
• Smart home / access platform: Integration with platforms like Brivo, Butterfly, or proprietary brand apps. Multi-user permissions, time-windowed access, full event logging. Used in luxury residential and any application with multiple regular users.
• Plate recognition: A camera at the gate reads the license plate of approaching vehicles; recognised plates trigger the gate to open without owner action. Convenience feature on premium installs; reliability has improved a lot in recent years.

Safety sensors, required on every powered gate

Every powered vehicular gate in BC must comply with UL 325 entrapment protection: primary plus secondary entrapment sensors on each direction of travel. The standard install is a pair of photo eyes (an emitter and receiver mounted at axle height across the driveway, beam broken = obstacle = reverse) plus safety edges (compressible rubber strips on the gate leading edge that detect contact). On reversing detection the operator must reverse within 2 seconds.

Sensor specification, placement, and commissioning are covered in detail on the UL 325 page. Technical Safety BC verifies sensor function during electrical inspection.

Battery backup and power loss

Most operators include a sealed battery backup. Capacity is typically rated for 5 to 20 cycles after AC power fails. For Metro Vancouver where power outages are usually short, this is sufficient for routine resilience. For longer outage sites, Sea-to-Sky storms, North Shore winter outages, larger battery packs are available, or the gate can be wired through a generator transfer switch.

Manual release is available on every operator regardless of power state. Linear arm: a small key-operated release on the operator body. Underground hydraulic: a release valve at the cylinder. Rack-drive slide: a clutch lever. Operating the manual release lets the gate be moved by hand.

Commissioning and handover

On install completion we walk the homeowner through:

1. Normal operation, open and close from each control method.
2. Manual release operation, how to open the gate by hand if power fails.
3. Adding and removing access codes (keypad).
4. App setup and multi-user permissions.
5. Sensor positioning, what to do if a leaf gets bumped and a sensor is knocked out of alignment.
6. Routine maintenance, quarterly visual inspection, annual lubrication on hinges and tracks.
7. Warranty contact and what is covered for how long.

Related guides

• UL 325 safety code and TSBC inspection
• Footings and post sizing
• Electrical and building permits
• What automation actually adds to the gate cost

FAQs