Understanding ADA Door Openers - A Beginners Guide
ADA-related automatic doors are split into two power classes: "high energy" and "low energy".
"High Energy" refers to the more powerful of the two. Here's how the system works and what it takes to install one. A high energy / full-powered door (A156.10) opens fast and forcefully on its own, triggered automatically when it senses someone approaching — think of grocery store sliders or the swing doors at a hospital entrance. Because it moves quickly enough to injure someone, it requires a full safety package of sensors and physical guards.
A "Low Energy" door, by contrast, opens slowly and is usually triggered by a "knowing act" like pressing a push plate or wave switch. It's inherently gentler, so it needs far less safety hardware. A lot of what people loosely call "the ADA button by the door" is actually a low-energy operator, not a high-energy one.
High Energy systems require an AAADM certified installer. AAADM installers have extensive training in high energy systems and their expertise generally includes manufacturer-specific factory training, electrical competency as well as local/state contractor liscensing.
High Energy systems typically range in price from $15,000 for a basic system all the way up to $25,000 for a premium, high cycle, heavy traffic installation.
A "Low Energy" system, like we sell here at CareProdx, click here to see our low energy systems, has much less stringent requirements because the door must be activated by a "knowing act", typically by pushing a button or waving your hand to initiate opening.
Low Energy behaviors:
- Opening time to backcheck (or 80 degrees, whichever comes first) is 3 seconds or longer, and backcheck doesn't happen before 60 degrees of opening.
- Closing takes at least 3 seconds from 90 degrees down to 10 degrees, and at least another 1.5 seconds from 10 degrees to fully closed.
- The door stays fully open for not less than 5 seconds before it starts to close — giving someone using a wheelchair or walker plenty of time to pass through.
- The force needed to stop the door (measured 1 inch from the latch edge) can't exceed 15 lbf at any point in the cycle, so a person can physically halt it without much effort.
Low Energy systems are also much less expensive, often times costing less than $3000 including equipment and installation. Also keep in mind that property insurance rates can change dramatically when a "high energy" system in in place, as potential liability dramatically increases with a high energy system.
For more information about the installation of low energy ADA door operators, please see our article about ADA door installation.
If you need more help, please call us at 800-413-3302. We are here to assist from planning through job completion.