Things to consider when purchasing an electric roller shutter door

If you are considering buying electric roller shutter doors there are a few things to take into consideration. The main factors are the type of operating system you require, do you need additional safety features and is there an alternate entrance to the building in the event of a power failure?

Line Of Sight Operation

Electric roller shutter doors can be operated in a number of ways depending upon the user requirements. For simple line of sight operation, roller shutters can be operated with a hold to run rocker switch or key switch. These switches are available in either hard wired or can wireless, saving time hiding unsightly cables etc.

Remote Control Operation

For remote controlled operation the roller shutter door is operated by a small key ring sized unit. As the roller shutter can in theory be opened from a position that does not allow for line of sight operation it is imperative that either the motor has an inbuilt safety feature or the door has a bottom rail safety edge. This is a requirement by law and is designed to prevent injury from the door hitting an object during its operation.

Emergency access

Most roller shutters come supplied with an internal manual release of some kind. This feature allows the door to still be operated from within the garage in the event of a power failure. This is not a problem if there is a side door or alternate access into the building. In situations where no access is available an external manual release will need to be specified at the time of ordering your new roller shutter door. If you choose not to go with this option and the power fails you will not be able to gain access to the building.