What happens to an electric gate in a power outage?

In a power outage, you can still open an electric gate by hand using the manual release on the opener. If your gate has a battery backup, it keeps working like normal for a while. Kodiak Gates & Iron, a custom iron shop in Caldwell, Idaho, installs gate openers with both.

People usually ask this one last, but it matters a lot. It decides which opener goes on the gate, where the battery goes, and whether you can actually reach the release in the dark.

What are my two options in a power outage?

A manual release or a battery backup. They solve different problems.

The manual release unhooks the gate from the motor so you can push or pull it by hand. A battery backup keeps the opener running, so your remote, keypad or phone still work for a limited number of opens.

Every opener comes with a manual release. A battery backup has to be added.

Because we build gates and install openers, we set up the release for the real weight of your gate, not the numbers in the manual. A heavy gate on a hinge that has dropped will unhook just fine and then be almost impossible to move by hand. That's an iron problem. We fix it with welding and by hanging the gate again before it's ever an opener problem. Most opener companies don't weld, and most welders don't install openers. Kodiak does both.

Can I open my gate by hand when the power is out?

Yes. Every opener has a manual release, usually a lever or a key on the opener itself. It unhooks the gate from the motor so you can move it by hand.

Where the release sits matters just as much. On a driveway gate it's at the gate, so someone has to be on the inside, or able to reach it. We decide which side the opener goes on, whether the release locks with a key, and whether the gate swings or rolls easily by hand once it's unhooked. We check all of that at your gate.

Does a battery backup keep my gate working normally?

Yes, for a while. A battery backup runs the opener when the power goes out, so your remote, keypad and phone keep working until the battery runs down.

How long it lasts depends on how many times the gate opens, not how many hours the power is out. A gate that opens twice a day can ride out an outage that a busy shared driveway can't. You also choose what happens when the battery runs out. The gate can unlock so it can be pushed open, or it can stay locked shut. That depends on who needs to get in and out.

Is a battery backup worth adding?

It depends on what happens if your gate won't open. It's worth it if the gate is the only way in or out by car, if the power on your road goes out often, or if someone at home can't work a manual release.

There's no honest price we can post for it. It depends on the opener, how many opens the battery needs to cover, whether the box has to be rated for weather, and where it mounts. We measure all of that at your gate.

Does a solar gate still work in a power outage?

Usually, yes. A solar opener already runs on a battery charged by the sun, so a power outage doesn't touch it.

The limit with solar is sun and use, not the power company. A string of short, dark winter days with a lot of traffic through the gate can drain the battery faster than the panel refills it. That's why we size the panel and battery for how often your gate opens. On a property where a trench would cross the driveway, sprinkler lines or landscaping, solar is often the better choice anyway. Read our guide Can a driveway gate run on solar power?

Will my gate work again on its own when the power comes back?

In most cases, yes. The opener comes back on and works normally when the power returns. But if you used the manual release, the gate stays unhooked until someone hooks it back up.

That's the part people forget. If you pushed the gate open by hand during the outage, the remote won't work an hour later. Nothing is broken. The gate just needs to be hooked back up. If the opener won't come back on, shows an error or stops in the wrong spot, that's a service call. Since we handle both the iron and the opener, a post or hinge that has moved gets fixed on the same visit. See our gate repair service.

Kodiak provides first year maintenance at no cost, when Kodiak did the installation.

Ask for an onsite estimate

Deciding between a manual release on its own and a battery backup comes down to your driveway: how you use the gate, how many times a day it opens, how far it is from power, and what it would cost you if it didn't open the morning the power went out. Send us a photo of the gate and posts, where the property is, and about how far the gate is from power. You get a quote after someone has stood at your gate, not before.

Request an onsite estimate, or call 208-906-1526.