Most boom-barrier complaints we hear — slow queues, booms that drop on bonnets, motors that burn out in summer — come from buying the wrong barrier, not a bad one. Five questions sort it out.
1. How many vehicles per day? A society gate with 300 movements and a toll or plant gate with 5,000 are different machines. For high traffic we only recommend brushless DC barriers rated for continuous duty; brushed AC units are fine for light residential use.
2. How fast must it open? SIE barriers run from 1.5 s to 8 s. Faster is not always better — a 1.5 s boom is for toll lanes and plant gates with UHF tag readers; a residential gate with visitors and two-wheelers is safer at 3–4 s.
3. How wide is the lane? Straight booms cover up to about 6 m. Beyond that, or where headroom is limited (basement parking), choose a folding (articulated) boom; for very wide lanes a telescopic boom or twin barriers.
4. How will it be triggered? Options are a guard push-button, remote, RFID or UHF long-range tag (residents pass without stopping), ANPR camera, or a visitor app. Whichever you choose, add a loop detector so the boom never closes on a vehicle in the lane.
5. What does the site do to it? Coastal salt air, 45 °C summers, heavy monsoon and dust each call for a different specification — IP-rated housings, heat-rated drives, raised controllers. Tell us the city and we will specify for it.
Answer these five and a quotation takes minutes. Send your gate photo and lane width on WhatsApp for a same-day recommendation.