1. The company you chose must be financially stable. Your equipment is built to last and so should your supplier. Find out how long they have been in business and how may systems they have installed. Any reputable company will have years of experience and a solid financial background.

2. Make sure you choose a company with a tangible after sales service. Many companies will promise the world when selling you an automation system, but insist on a monitored 24hr 365day a year service back up. Try ringing them after hours before you buy and see who answers the phone.

3. Make out a list of questions before meeting with your future supplier. Test their knowledge of the product they are trying to sell you. A poorly specified system will cause problems.

4. If you are building your house now, plan ahead and put the appropriate cables in during first fix. This will save you any hassle in the future. A good supplier should be able to help you with this straight away, and without cost.

5. There is no such thing as a free lunch. A cheap supplier is normally cheap for a reason. Either the equipment is cheap and of a lesser quality or the supplier has no service overhead and is therefore not worried about back up. It cannot be stressed highly enough to buy the best as your gates are something you will use every day. You may regret paying too much, but you will always regret paying too little.

6. Safety, Safety, Safety. How does your supplier measure up? European standards ask for a number of safety features to protect you or your vehicle from damage. Make sure your equipment comes complete with by pass valves and safety photocells, this will help protect against potential injury in the opening and closing cycle. Your supplier should carry out a safety audit to ensure everything is covered.

7. Does your supplier carry stock of spare parts? If something does go wrong you don’t want to have to wait weeks on a replacement part.

8. Make sure your system works with you. A good automation system complete with access control accessories should be flexible and meet the needs of your lifestyle. What happens when friends want to come round for a barbecue? What if you want to go for a walk but don’t want to bring your transmitter? How will your children and grandchildren use the system?

9. Ask your supplier about jobs that have been previously carried out. A good supplier should be able to refer you to happy customers.

10. Finally, Choose Electro Automation. We will satisfy all your automation requirements. Electro Automation is Ireland’s largest supplier of gate automation equipment with 24 hr cover on all our equipment.