Many gate motors have a small battery for a few cycles, but a long outage drains it and then the gate stays where it is. Families end up leaving it open for days, which defeats the point, or manually releasing it in the dark. Couriers cannot get in, the ambulance has to find the release, and the dogs find their way out. Intercoms and keypads stop working at the same time.
Where the gate motor runs from the house supply, the battery and inverter in UPS mode keep it working through an outage, along with the intercom, keypad and gate lights. The fuel cell recharges the battery from stored hydrogen for as long as the outage lasts. Gate motors are small, short loads that barely register against 15 kW continuous output, so there is no need to ration openings.
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Gates at the end of long rural driveways are often supplied by their own cable or a separate connection. If the gate is on its own supply, it is outside the house system unless the wiring is changed. That is worth discussing with an electrician and covering in pilot planning. Charging happens on cheap night-rate power or from wind or micro-hydro, and round-trip efficiency is 30% or less.
If it runs from the house supply, yes. The battery and inverter keep it powered and the fuel cell recharges the battery from stored hydrogen for as long as the store lasts.
Only if it is supplied from the house. If it has its own connection, an electrician would need to look at wiring it to the backed-up supply, which pilot planning would cover.
No. Gate motors run for short bursts, and intercoms and keypads draw little. They sit easily within 15 kW continuous alongside the rest of the house. You can open and close the gate as often as you normally would during an outage.
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