Automatic doors with access control
Automatic entrances that let the right people in with a fob, card, keypad or intercom, lock up at night, and still let everyone out safely in an emergency.
Doors and access control working together
Most automatic doors open for anyone who walks up. That is right for a shop in opening hours, but many buildings need more control: staff-only entrances, schools, surgeries after hours, office receptions and blocks of flats.
We install both sides of the job. We fit and service automatic doors, and we install and support Paxton Net2 and Paxton10 access control. Linking the two means a fob, card, keypad or intercom can open the automatic door, and the door can lock itself outside the times you choose.
Ways to control the door
Each building is different. These are the links we are asked for most.
Fobs, cards & keypads
Readers beside the door that open it for authorised users only, with entries you can see and change.
Video intercoms
Visitors call reception or a flat, and the door opens when someone lets them in. See access control and intercoms.
Opening hours
The door runs fully automatic during the day and switches to controlled entry or locks outside the hours you set.
Programme selectors
Staff can switch the door between settings such as automatic, exit only, held open and locked.
Fire alarm release
A signal from the fire alarm tells the door what to do when the alarm sounds, for example to open and stay open.
Power failure
Back-up batteries let a door open, or stay usable, when the mains power fails, depending on what the door is for.
Getting out comes first
Locking an automatic door must never trap people inside. If the door is on an escape route, the way it locks has to be planned together with how it behaves in a fire and in a power cut. Depending on the door, it may need to open automatically, break out by hand, or be easy to push open.
We look at this at the survey and agree how the door should behave with you and, where needed, your fire risk assessor and fire alarm engineer. During commissioning we test what the door does when the fire alarm is triggered and when the power fails, so you know it works before anyone relies on it.
A real example from South Woodford
On a recent installation at a public building in South Woodford, we connected the automatic door control to the building’s fire alarm through a relay and programmed the doors to release when the fire alarm is triggered. Commissioning was planned with the fire alarm engineer, and the fire release was tested and demonstrated to the site team.
We also checked that the doors open when the mains power fails. Read the South Woodford automatic doors project.
Adding control to a door you already have
Many automatic doors can take an access control or fire alarm input without replacing the operator. We check the make and model, the control unit’s inputs and the locking, then tell you what is possible and what it would involve.
If the existing operator can’t do what you need, we can fit a new one. See automatic door installation. Once everything is linked, we test the whole entrance on every maintenance visit.
Access control questions
Often, yes. Many automatic door operators have inputs for access control and locking. We check your door’s make, model and control unit, then tell you what is possible and what it would involve.
When a door is linked to the fire alarm, it can be set up to open and stay open, or to behave in another way that suits your fire strategy, when the alarm is triggered. We agree how it should behave and test it during commissioning.
It depends on the door and what it is for. Some doors open automatically on battery power when the mains fails, others can be pushed open by hand. Doors on escape routes have extra requirements, and we check which applies to your door.
Yes. We install and support Paxton Net2 and Paxton10 access control, video intercoms and automatic doors, so one company can look after the whole entrance. See access control and intercoms.
Yes. The door can be locked using its programme selector, or on a schedule through the access control system, so it runs automatically during the day and stays locked outside the hours you set. Locking on an escape route has to be planned so people can always get out.
Link your door to access control
Tell us how the entrance should work and we’ll check what your door can do.