UL325 Compliance

UL 325 is a standard for safety that addresses the automatic operation of garage doors, vehicular gates, louvers, and windows. EMX manufactures a group of products that meet the UL325 standard and allow installers to meet a specific subset of requirements related to automatic gate and overhead door installations.

It is important to understand some of the core requirements and concepts set forth in the UL325 standard to ensure you are meeting the safety requirements on the job site. 

Understand your Gate Class

Four distinct types of classifications have been established:

• Class I: “A vehicular gate operator (or system) intended for use in garages or parking areas associated with a residence of one-to four single families.”
• Class II: ” Avehicular gate operator (or system) intended for use in a commercial location or building such as a multi-family housing unit (five or more single family units), hotel, garages, retail store, or other buildings accessible by or servicing the general public.”
• Class III: “A vehicular gate operator (or system) intended for use in an industrial location or building such as a factory or loading dock area or other locations not accessible by or intended to service the general public.”
• Class IV: “A vehicular gate operator (or system) intended for use in a guarded industrial location or building such as an airport security area or other restricted access locations not servicing the general public, in which unauthorized access is prevented via supervision by security personnel.”

What are the Gate Types?

The UL325 specification calls out the comomon gate types and required protections for each in the technical data sheet #353. They are described by their mechanical function as outlined below:

• Horizontal Slide Gates
• Vertical Lift Gates
• Vertical Pivot Gates
• Swing Gates
• Vehicular Barrier Arms

Each gate type requires 2 means of independent protection in entrapment zones on open and close (with the exception of vertical lift gates, which only requires one method of entrapment protention on opening.) The most common devices to meet these two requirements are the use of photo eyes and safety edges.