Go Commercial

Go Commercial
Booming operator market promises opportunities for expansion

By Dan Dombkowski

Many dealers doing residential garage door and gate operator installations are eyeing the booming commercial market, wondering if it makes sense to expand their businesses. With the nonresidential construction market expected to grow at almost twice the 3.7 percent pace of 2005, commercial business may help balance the current slowdown in residential construction.

Plus, with commercial jobs, installation is only the beginning. When you install a garage door opener for a homeowner, it could be years before you hear from them again. With commercial, many businesses will hire you to perform monthly maintenance for their openers and doors, rather than taking a chance that something will go wrong and cause a costly shut down. Developing a commercial clientele can keep your cash flowing year-round.

Essentially, a commercial door operator does the same thing as a residential operator. Its basic job is to open and close doors. If dealers make the right choices, they can break into the commercial market without making a big investment.

By doing their homework and starting smart, dealers can use the same tools, employees and equipment they already draw on for the residential side of their businesses. Also, it’s more than likely they can even order operators and accessories from their current suppliers.

Starting Smart

So how do you start smart? Rather than tackling a field like rolling doors or fire doors that require special training and equipment, begin with jobs considered “big brothers” of the residential installations you’re doing today.

It might seem as if there is a bewildering array of commercial operators to choose from, but in reality most dealers getting into the business will use three basic types of operators. Each has different duty levels, ranging from light- to heavy-industrial duty. The type of door that will be opened, size and weight, and how much it’s used determines the right type of operator and duty level.

For example, a sectional door that lifts straight up to allow forklifts in and out of the warehouse several times a day requires a different type of operator than the garage doors in a 100-unit condominium building that need to open and close more than a hundred times on a typical workday morning.

A commercial sectional door that breaks into horizontal tracks as it goes up is simply a bigger version of the residential garage door you’re already familiar with. For the most part, this is the only type of door that takes a trolley operator, which uses a rail similar to a residential operator.

A sectional door with high lift goes up a designated distance along the wall before breaking back. In buildings with high ceilings, such as warehouses and loading docks, vertical- lift doors simply go straight up and never break back. These types of doors require a jackshaft operator that mounts on the side of the wall next to the garage door, so nothing interferes with overhead clearance. A hoist operator is simply a jackshaft operator with a means—usually a hoist wheel and chain—to manually open and close the door in case the power goes out.

How Heavy-Duty Do You Need?

That depends on the maximum number of cycles the customer needs—per day and per hour—along with how big and how heavy the door. A heavy door that opens and closes more than a hundred times a day needs an operator with a heavier-duty rating than if the door opened and closed five times a day. If you’re on the fence, opt for too much rather than too little. Heavier-duty motors cost more, but they last longer.

Limited and medium-duty operators use intermittent- duty motors that can only run for a certain period of time before they overheat, automatically shut down, and then must cool off before functioning again.

Standard and heavy-duty operators use continuous-duty motors designed to be able to run constantly without overheating. All operators use reduction systems to slow down output rpms and increase torque output. The more you reduce the output speed of the motor, the more weight you can lift with the same horsepower.

Doors that cycle 20 to 25 times per hour at peak times, and less than 100 cycles per day, can usually use a standard-duty operator. For more than 100 cycles per day or 25 cycles per hour, you’d use an industrial heavy-duty, gear-driven operator—essentially worm gears running in an oil bath, much like the transmission in your car.

All About Electric

Chances are, you won’t actually be doing the electrical wiring for the job, since most states mandate the electric be run by a licensed electrician. But you’ll need to know what kind of power is available at the job site, and make certain the correct voltage is actually being delivered to the motor.

Homes typically run on 115 VAC power, and that could be what’s at the job site. A manufacturing operation or industrial complex could have 460 V three-phase, which is very efficient. The general rule of thumb is the higher the voltage, the more efficient it is—and the less it costs to operate. Be certain to match your operator selection with the voltage and phase available at the job site.

Duty Ratings

Light Duty - 7 cycles per hour, no more than 50 per day.
Medium Duty - 12 per hour, no more than 50 cycles per day.
Standard Duty - 25 per hour, no more than 100 per day.
Heavy Duty - 25 per hour, no limitations.

The Future Is Logical

Most manufacturers now offer both mechanical and logic operators. Mechanical units operate through a combination of relays or contactors to do the electrical switching. A logic operator uses a microprocessor and has a wide variety of easily programmed features that would take a lot of wiring and extra components to install in a mechanical operator.

Underwriters Laboratories, an independent, not-for-profit safety certification organization that evaluates products in the interest of public safety, is currently developing new safety standards for commercial door operators. The standards are expected to be released sometime this year. Typically, manufacturers will then have 18 to 24 months to fully comply with the standards.

However, the new standards will be much easier to meet with a logic operator than a mechanical unit. Logic operators give confirmation that each step of the installation is done correctly. Also, they’re now so smart they have built-in diagnostics, so if something does go wrong, the board can pinpoint the problem.

Adding commercial operators to your product mix can really help grow your business. But before you start ordering all things commercial, get educated. Consult with door manufacturers, or contact an operator manufacturer and inquire about any training they may offer. Some have extensive training programs for dealers. Once you get some education and a little hands-on experience, you’ll have the confidence you need to bid on commercial jobs.

Jackshaft operators are also used on rolling doors and grilles, a section of interconnected slats that run in tracks up and down and roll up on a barrel. Usually made out of steel, these doors operate like a giant window shade with an internal springing system that lifts the weight of the door.

Fire-Door Release Devices 
A fire door’s job is to seal off part of a building, containing the fire and limiting the damage. A fire release door has built-in sensors that cause the door to come down automatically if a fire breaks out. They’re mandated by building codes, and installation should only be done by a trained specialist.