What does a shop need from an automatic door?
A shop door is part of the shop front. It needs to look open and inviting, let every customer in without a struggle and stand up to heavy use all day. It also has to hold heat in during winter, keep the shop secure overnight and keep working on the busiest trading days.
For most shops the practical needs are a wide, level opening, sensors that open the door early for people coming in and ignore people passing on the pavement, a night mode that locks the door, and a partial opening setting to cut draughts in cold weather.
Which automatic doors suit retail premises?
Automatic sliding doors are the standard choice for shop entrances. They open without swinging into customers or the street and suit most frontages. Telescopic sliding doors suit frontages where there is not enough wall to slide a full leaf into, and automatic folding doors give a wide opening on a very narrow front.
Showrooms and premium shops often choose frameless glass automatic doors for an all-glass look. Large stores and shopping centres with heavy footfall may suit an automatic entrance lobby or a revolving door to cut heat loss, with an accessible sliding or swing door alongside any revolving door.
Many small shops do not need a new door at all. A sound existing door can often take an operator instead; see automating an existing door.
What about security, planning and older shop fronts?
Automatic shop doors lock when they close in night mode, usually with an electromechanical lock in the operator, and can be linked to a key switch, access control or the shop's shutter. A programme switch lets staff choose automatic, exit only, open or locked; the glossary explains each mode.
Changing a shop front can need planning permission, and listed buildings and conservation areas have extra controls. Our guide to automatic shop doors, planning and listed buildings explains what to check. On older frontages we look closely at the structure above the opening, because the operator and leaves hang from it.
What safety rules apply to shop doors?
Your customers include children, older people and disabled people, and the door has to be safe for all of them. BS EN 16005 is the standard for the safety in use of power-operated pedestrian doors. We set up, test and document doors with reference to it, using a site-specific risk assessment.
- Workplace health and safety law expects powered doors to have safety features that prevent people being trapped or struck, and to be safe if the power fails.
- Service providers have duties to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people under equality and accessibility law, and an automatic door is a common adjustment at a shop entrance.
- If the shop door is also a way out in a fire, it must let people out safely in an emergency, so it is set up to open, break out or be openable by hand as the fire strategy requires. Break-out sliding doors are made for this.
- Glass doors and screens need safety glass, and markings so that people do not walk into them.
A powered door is treated as machinery. Whoever motorises a manual door, or assembles an automatic door from separate parts, may take on the manufacturer's duties for it, including the conformity paperwork and marking. The Declaration of Conformity and instructions are handed over when the door is finished.
Can you fit the door without closing the shop?
Usually, yes, or with only a short closure. An operator on an existing door is often fitted in a day, and complete door sets usually take one to three days on site. We plan the work to keep a safe entrance open where we can, and early mornings, evenings or quieter trading days can be arranged, with any extra cost shown in the quote.
When the old door comes out, we agree with you how the opening is kept secure overnight.
How do you keep a shop door working?
A shop door that fails on a Saturday costs trade, so servicing is worth planning. We recommend a trained engineer checks the safety functions at least once a year, with service intervals set by the manufacturer's instructions and how heavily the door is used; busy shop doors are often serviced more often.
Servicing visits clean and adjust the tracks, rollers, sensors and locks and leave a written record. Repairs are paid visits priced in writing before we attend, and we can often price a repair from photos and the door's make and model.
How much does an automatic shop door cost?
A new automatic sliding door for a shop entrance is typically £4,495 to £12,995 ex VAT as a guide, and automating a sound existing door is from £1,795 ex VAT (£2,154 inc VAT). Every new door starts with a free site survey and a fixed, itemised written quote. Try the guide price tool for a range for your frontage, or see the price guide for every item.
Questions
Will an automatic shop door open every time someone walks past?
Not if the sensors are set up properly. Motion sensors can be set to react only to people moving towards the door, and the detection zone is shaped so the pavement in front of the shop is largely ignored. On busy streets we fine-tune the sensors after fitting and at each service, so the door opens for customers without opening for every passer-by.
Can the door stay locked when the shop is closed?
Yes. In night mode the door closes and locks, usually with an electromechanical lock in the operator. Staff can open it with a key switch, keypad or fob, and it can be linked to your alarm or shutter. If the door is also a way out in an emergency, it is set up so people inside can still get out, as the fire strategy requires.
Does an automatic door help with heating bills?
It can help. An automatic door closes promptly after each customer, unlike a door propped open all day, and a partial opening setting uses only part of the width in cold weather. For very busy entrances, a draught lobby or revolving door holds more heat in. How much difference it makes depends on the shop, so we do not quote savings figures.
Do I need planning permission for an automatic shop door?
Sometimes. Changing the appearance of a shop front can need planning permission, and listed buildings and conservation areas have extra controls. Automating an existing door with little visible change often needs less, but your local planning authority decides. Our guide to automatic shop doors, planning and listed buildings explains what to check before ordering.
Can you automate my existing shop door?
Often, yes. A sound swing door can usually take a swing door operator, and some manual sliding doors can take a sliding operator. The survey checks the door, frame, hinges, glass and what the operator will fix to. If the door is not suitable we say so and quote a new door instead. See automating an existing door.
