It is important to understand that the primary application of adding electric gate operators on domestic entrance gates is for convenience, along with keeping children and pets safe inside a closed driveway. Don’t assume that electric gates will automatically be secure!

Most basic electric swing entrance gate systems only have the gate leaves held closed by the motor drive units and if they are not super powerful units, then forcing them open isn’t that hard.
Low quality, cheap aluminium or softwood timber gates can easily be broken and forced with weaker profiles used for attachment of drive units which hold the gates when closed.
Either your driveway gate security is perceived or can be real when specified correctly..

For instance, a rising vehicle barrier on a car park entrance is not there for real security – it is there for traffic management with mostly law abiding car drivers. If security is the main criteria, in this case, adding hydraulic rising bollards, capable of withstanding significant vehicle impact would be far more appropriate.

Electric gate operators can be forced to a greater or lesser extent, this depends on their size, specification and whether they are hydraulic or electro mechanical drives – Over a certain gate width manufacturers will also recommend that a locking device such as an electro-magnetic lock is added to avoid the operators from being damaged in high winds. High performance electric motors will hold gates in high winds and be more secure naturally with higher power outputs and stronger components. Always make sure the gate motors have plenty of spare performance in reserve and are right for the gate size and weight…

An electric sliding gate system is usually considered a lot more secure than electric hinged swing gates. The basic mechanism for sliding entrance gates provides a very secure closed position with the gate leaf held either side within steel posts and no obvious access for forced entry attempts.

Please feel free to discuss the merits of all electric gate systems with our sales and surveyor team - 01933 229123.

Electric operated gates can be very secure to an attempted forced entry if they are specified and built correctly. Factors such as the size and weight along with the actual gate design can make a difference in terms of the actual gate and its ability to resist attempted and forced break ins. Obviously a tall (over 2m high) and solid gate design will stop someone from jumping easily over the gate, but the same gates with inferior electric motor drives could possibly be forced open easily by the same person. It is about the gate design, the construction and integrity and then the motors used on the gates. All of these factors will contribute to whether the gates are really secure or not.

Some open lattice gate designs actively provide a climbing frame for an agile person to simply climb straight up and over, but this is a person and not a vehicle. If you want to stop a vehicle you have to go to higher levels of specification and adopt electric locks for example to hold the gates in combination with the motor drives. Ram raiding with intent of course is a different level again and often we suggest other security products are used in front of or behind the gates such as rising bollards or rising ramps. All this is possible depending on what you want to prevent.

Swing gates can be forced open where a sliding gate cannot because they are set behind the gate posts, so any lateral force applied from the outside is held far better than gates which swing inwards generally.
Different types of electric operators provide different levels of resistance and you also have hydraulic and mechanical drives, all with different sizes and power outputs. The motors are also used of course to resist wind loading, a particular issue on solid swing gates when they are larger.

When customers ask about electric entrance gates and security it is best to understand first what the security referred to is supposed to be preventing? In other words, what is the perceived threat?
Is it casual theft or access from passers by who can currently wander in as there are no gates, or maybe your entrance is more exposed to a harder physical attack using tools or a stolen vehicle for ramming the gates?

If you are trying to stop a person from entering your property with automatic entrance gates then perhaps the gate design and the height will be most relevant, so this can cover either a sliding or a swing gate system, but focus on the design and height of the gates primarily.

If you are trying to stop a vehicle entering and you think the vehicle might try to ram the gates then this is far more serious and we would always be looking at sliding gate systems first with a strong gate design and construction and overall installation method.

Sliding electric gates are very secure as they are held firmly within steel posts either side when closed and cannot be forced easily.

Nearly every electric gate system we install will operate with an auto close facility, so most automatic gates close after about 30 seconds every time they are used. This is the way to stop the majority of potential issues with security as most casual thieves will not enter a property if it has a physical barrier to entry and then look for an easier entry from an open gate or access.

A closed gate does far more than you think in reality, so just keeping the entrance gates closed is 90% of security issues solved. However, times have changed and home intruders are tending to be far more bold in their actions in 2025.

Those who want to force entry by pre-planning are a different issue and this is when you look at the design, the motor drives and additional locking facilities as well as higher level security access control systems. Additional manual locking facilities can be added to the electric solutions in place and these can be treated as ‘holiday’ mode to be used when the house is unoccupied for longer periods.

We like to think all our electric gate systems offer far greater security just by being closed and reliably closing every time. If your issue is a far greater security threat, then we can look to add rising security bollards or other physical security devices behind, or in front of the main gates to work in conjunction with the entrance gates and add serious security, especially against vehicle theft and access.