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Service · 04
Gate access control, from keypads to vehicle loops.
How people and vehicles get through an automatic gate: keypads, remotes, intercoms, app entry and exit sensors, and the fire-department access each town expects.
Exit sensors
How does a gate open on the way out?
With a sensor ahead of the gate. DoorKing places an automatic exit loop 20 to 100 ft from the gate, so the gate is open or opening as the vehicle arrives.1
What it costs
What do keypads, remotes and intercoms cost?
These are national cost-guide figures, not local quotes.
What types of gate access control are there?
This page covers four kinds of access control: keypads, remote transmitters, intercoms, and vehicle exit sensors. National add-on costs are in the table above, and the fire authority’s rules shape which of them a gate needs.
- Keypads. HomeGuide (2023) puts a gate keypad at $100 to $800 nationally.2 In Windsor, a keypad alone does not satisfy the fire authority (below).5
- Remote transmitters. HomeGuide (2023) puts remotes at $75 to $300 each.2
- Intercoms. HomeGuide (2023) puts an intercom system at $500 to $4,500+ before installation, and Fixr at $1,000 to $7,000.23
- Vehicle loops. DoorKing gives 18 by 48 in as the minimum loop size, with loops at least 4 ft from the gate and from other loops.1
- Probe or wand sensors. Mighty Mule’s FM138 has a 12 ft detection field and is placed 3 to 50 ft from the gate.4
Is a keypad enough for fire department access?
Not in Windsor. Windsor Severance Fire Rescue requires a Knox Key Switch on electric gates and will not accept access only via a private keypad.5 For manual gates, Windsor Severance Fire Rescue requires a Knox Padlock or Knox Box rather than a plain padlock.5
Fort Collins words it differently. Electric gates need a means of opening the gate by fire department personnel for emergency access, and emergency opening devices must be approved by the fire code official; manual gates cannot be locked with a padlock unless it is approved by the fire code official and compatible with the fire department’s key boxes.6 In Fort Collins, D103.5 item 9 also requires electric gate operators, where provided, to be listed to UL 325.6
Elsewhere the text differs again. Loveland Fire Rescue Authority, Windsor Severance Fire Rescue and the Town of Johnstown each carry an exception for private driveways serving one single-family residence, as approved by the fire code official.789 Greeley has not adopted Appendix D; its code adopts Appendices B and C, so a gate there falls under the general security-gate section, 503.6.10 The fire-access guide compares every town line by line.
Where does a vehicle exit loop go?
Ahead of the gate on the way out. DoorKing places an automatic exit loop 20 to 100 ft from the gate, so the gate is open or opening as the vehicle arrives, and gives 18 by 48 in as the minimum loop size, at least 4 ft from the gate and from other loops.1
Can an access device hold a gate open?
On LiftMaster’s LA400UL, yes. Its troubleshooting chart lists an active open control, an active vehicle loop detector and an active fire department input among the causes of a gate that opens but won’t close, and an active vehicle loop detector among the causes of one that closes but won’t open.11 Gate opener repair has the rest of that chart.
Access control sits on top of the opener: a new gate starts with automatic gate installation, operator ratings in the cold are in the cold-weather guide, and the driveway gate cost page has installed costs.
Keypad, remote or intercom? Call and ask.
Common questions
About gate access control.
HomeGuide (2023) puts a gate keypad at $100 to $800 nationally.2 That is a national figure, not a local quote.
HomeGuide (2023) puts remotes at $75 to $300 each.2 That is a national figure, not a local quote.
No. Windsor Severance Fire Rescue will not accept access only via a private keypad and requires a Knox Key Switch on electric gates.5
A means of opening the gate by fire department personnel for emergency access, with emergency opening devices approved by the fire code official.6 The adopted text does not name a device brand.
DoorKing gives 18 by 48 in as the minimum loop size, with loops at least 4 ft from the gate and from other loops.1
A buried probe that detects a vehicle leaving. Mighty Mule's FM138 has a 12 ft detection field on a 50-ft cable and is placed 3 to 50 ft from the gate.4
Sources
- 1DoorKing, Loop Information, vehicle loop detector guide (5-22). View source
- 2HomeGuide, How Much Does an Automatic Driveway Gate Cost? (2026), published December 14, 2023. View source
- 3Fixr, How much does it cost to install an electric gate?, updated January 31, 2025. View source
- 4Mighty Mule, 50' Vehicle Sensor Exit Wand (FM138), product page. View source
- 5Windsor Severance Fire Rescue, 2025 Construction and Development Guide, gates. View source
- 6City of Fort Collins, Municipal Code Chapter 9, §9-1 and §9-2 (2024 International Fire Code and local amendments), 503.6 and Appendix D §D103.5. View source
- 7Loveland Fire Rescue Authority, 2024 IFC Final Amendments (effective January 1, 2026), §D103.5 exception. View source
- 8Windsor Severance Fire Rescue, 2024 IFC WSFR Amendments. View source
- 9Town of Johnstown, Municipal Code Chapter 18, Article VII, §18-63, Ord. No. 2025-280. View source
- 10City of Greeley, Municipal Code Title 22, Chapter 12 (Fire Code), Secs. 22-455, 22-476, 22-477. View source
- 11LiftMaster, LA400UL Installation Manual 01-39384B. View source
