Locks and Security News: your weekly locks and security industry newsletter
24th April 2024 Issue no. 702
Your industry news - first
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Low energy door operators are an important revenue stream for many in locksmithing and security
Low energy door operators provide convenience, security, and safety, and can be installed in new construction as well, and are a great upgrade.
If you are in a location subject to BHMA A158.19 (Power Assist and low Energy Power Operated Doors, low energy door operators require a “Knowing Act” switch to activate them. As an option, some operators are provided to operate “push and go” feature where pressure on the door triggers the door operator into an opening cycle.
This of course does not work on the Pull side of the door, and many installers prefer to avoid the push and go feature altogether, relying on the “Knowing Act” buttons. On the majority of installations, the knowing act is to press a wall switch. Signage is required to be put on the door to advise pedestrians of the fact that the door is equipped with an operator, and it requires they press the “Knowing Act” switch to actuate it.
A low energy door operator is pretty much a self-contained device requiring only wiring to operating power, and the provision of usually two “Knowing Act” devices for entry and egress. Many installers offer other accessories and additional actuators depending on the specific site requirements.
The door control industry long ago transitioned from the wired variety of knowing act switch to battery operated ones which greatly simplified installation and allowed positioning of the switches based more on the best functionality rather than the easiest and most feasible to run a wire.
On exterior doors in particular, running a wire to the most suitable location of the knowing act involved penetrating exterior walls and storefronts which are not particularly easy to drill or snake wires in.
Battery powered knowing act devices run on batteries. End-users have long resisted battery operated equipment, especially security equipment because they know that eventually the batteries will degenerate, the item they power will stop working, and it will likely involve an expensive service call to replace the battery.
True. True. True.
Camden Controls, a respected Canadian manufacturer of security and door controls recently introduced their innovative CAMDEN KINETIC what many consider the best innovation to wireless, equally epic to the introduction of sliced bread.
It’s a wireless product that does not require batteries in the transmitter because it harvests the power created by physically pressing the switch to generate the power required to operate the wireless transmitter.
The receiver end which resides at the door operator, is conventionally powered by the door operator’s auxiliary power, or a small 12/24VDC power source.
If you are the creative type and have a special application, Camden also has a Wireless Switch kit.
visit https://www.camdencontrols.com/promotions/kinetic
Say you saw it in LOCKS and SECURITY News!
19th February 2020