Electric doors open and close under power rather than by hand. In South African commercial buildings that usually means a sliding or swing leaf driven by an operator, triggered by a sensor or an access-control device. This guide covers what the term actually includes, where each type belongs, and what to plan for before installing electric doors in a building.
What counts as electric doors
The term is broad and covers several different machines. Powered sliding leaves are the most common commercial arrangement. Powered swing operators automate a conventional hinged door, which is often the answer when an existing doorway must stay. Telescopic gear buys extra clear width where the wall alongside is short, and revolving arrangements are chosen mainly to control air movement in a lobby. All are electric doors; they solve different problems.
Sliding or swing?
A slider needs a straight run alongside the opening for the leaf to travel into, and nothing projects into the walkway. A swing operator suits a narrower opening or an existing door, but the leaf sweeps an arc that has to stay clear. When electric doors are specified from the opening width alone, this is the constraint most often discovered on site.
Power, cabling and load-shedding
Every powered entrance needs a supply at the head of the opening, and on a retrofit that is frequently the hardest part — not the door. Establish early whether cabling can practically be run, and where the operator header can physically sit without fouling a bulkhead, a sprinkler line or a services void.
Battery backup is effectively standard on a main entrance in South Africa. The decision that matters is what the door should do when mains power drops: fail open, fail secure, or hold its last position. Make it deliberately at specification stage rather than discovering the default during the first outage. Our guide to automatic doors during load shedding covers the behaviour in more detail.
Controls: what actually triggers electric doors
Activation can come from a motion or presence sensor, a push pad, a card reader, an intercom, a reception release button or a building management system. Most commercial entrances use more than one. Separate from activation is safety detection, which stops or reverses the leaf when somebody is in the closing path — and that is never optional. See how automatic door sensors work for the component detail.
Duty cycle decides the specification
Traffic volume drives hardware, service intervals and often the sensor arrangement. A quiet office side entrance and a shopping-centre door passing thousands of people daily may use the same operator family and still need very different set-ups. An honest estimate of daily passes is worth more at specification stage than the exact opening width.
Safety obligations
Powered pedestrian doors carry safety duties. Bypassing a faulty safety sensor to keep electric doors running is never an acceptable interim measure, however inconvenient the fault. Requirements vary with the building and the application, so where an entrance carries safety or regulatory consequences the specification should be set against standards published by the South African Bureau of Standards and confirmed by a suitably qualified person.
Servicing electric doors
Components wear on cycle count rather than calendar months. A preventative service checks belt condition and tension, rollers and hangers, track and floor guides, sensor alignment and detection fields, locking, battery backup, door alignment and electrical connections — the parts that give warning before they fail. High-traffic entrances need attention more often than lightly used ones.
Supply, installation and support
Coetz™ and MC Automations supply, install and service electric doors across Johannesburg and Gauteng, with spares held locally so an entrance is not waiting on an import. Browse automatic door systems or read the repairs guide if you are maintaining an existing entrance rather than installing a new one.
Electric doors: frequently asked questions
What is the difference between electric doors and automatic doors?
In practice the terms are used interchangeably. Both describe a door opened and closed by a powered operator rather than by hand.
Can an existing hinged door be made electric?
Often, yes. A swing operator can automate a conventional door provided the leaf, hinges and frame are sound and there is power at the head of the opening. A site assessment confirms it.
Do electric doors work during a power failure?
With battery backup, yes, for a limited period. The important decision is what the door does when power drops – fail open, fail secure or hold position.
How often should electric doors be serviced?
It depends on cycle count rather than time. A high-traffic retail entrance needs attention far more often than a quiet office door on the same operator.
Are electric doors safe for children and wheelchair users?
They should be, provided the safety detection field is correctly set and commissioned. Safety sensors must never be bypassed to keep a faulty door running.
Do you install electric doors outside Johannesburg?
Supply is possible nationally. Whether attendance is practical depends on the site, so send the location and we will confirm.
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