Automatic Door Push Button: Types, Placement and Faults

An automatic door push button is the small device that decides who the door opens for and when. A motion sensor opens the door for anybody who walks towards it. An automatic door push button opens it only when somebody asks. On an accessible toilet, a staff corridor, a consulting room or a swing door that must not open into passers-by, that difference is the whole point.

This guide covers the automatic door push button and its relatives: push pads, no-touch wave switches, key switches, remotes, card readers, keypads and exit buttons. It explains where each one belongs, where to mount it, how it works with locks and access control, and what to check when one stops working. It applies to commercial pedestrian doors, not gates or garage doors.

What an automatic door push button does

An automatic door push button sends a single signal to the door operator: open now. The operator then runs a normal powered cycle. It opens at the set speed, holds open for the set time, and closes while the safety sensors watch for anybody still in the doorway.

The button does not replace the safety sensing. It replaces the activation sensor, which is the part that decides to open. A door with an automatic door push button still needs presence sensing at the closing edge, and a swing door still needs sensors watching the swing path. Our guide to automatic door sensors explains the difference between activation and safety sensing.

The types of activation device

“Automatic door push button” is the everyday name, but several devices do the same job in different ways.

• Push pad or push plate. A large button, often square or round, marked with the wheelchair symbol. Easy to hit with an elbow, a fist or the side of a hand.
• No-touch or wave switch. An infrared switch that triggers when a hand passes in front of it. Popular in clinics, kitchens and anywhere hygiene matters.
• Key switch. Used by staff to change the door mode, for example from automatic to locked at closing time.
• Remote or wireless button. Lets a receptionist or a wheelchair user open the door from a distance. The MCW-100 supports remote control and wireless push buttons.
• Card reader, keypad or intercom. An access-control device that opens the door only for authorised people. The MC-125 supports card readers, keypads, remotes and intercoms with an electric lock.
• Push-and-go. Not a button at all. On a swing door, a light push on the leaf tells the operator to take over and complete the opening under power.

Most entrances use more than one. A typical accessible entrance has an automatic door push button on each side, a key switch for staff and, out of hours, a card reader.

When a push button beats a motion sensor

A motion sensor is right for a main entrance, where everybody walking towards the door wants to go through it. An automatic door push button is right where most people walking past do not.

• Accessible toilets and changing rooms. The door should open on request, not every time somebody walks along the corridor.
• Swing doors into corridors. A leaf swinging out every time somebody walks by is a hazard. A button keeps the door closed until it is needed.
• Consulting rooms and offices. Privacy and noise both suffer when a door opens for passers-by.
• Low-energy swing doors. These are commonly activated by an automatic door push button, because the door moves slowly and opens only on request.
• Air-conditioned or cold rooms. Fewer unwanted openings mean less lost air.

Our guide to automatic doors for disabled access covers the accessible side of this in more depth.

Where to mount an automatic door push button

Placement is where most automatic door push button installations go wrong. A button in the wrong place is worse than no button, because it puts the user in the way of the door.

• Clear of the swing path. On a swing door, the person pressing the automatic door push button must not be standing where the leaf will arrive. Mount it beside the door on the latch side, far enough away that the leaf clears the user.
• Early enough to be useful. The door should be fully open by the time a wheelchair user has moved from the button to the threshold.
• Reachable from a seated position. Mount the button where a seated user can reach it without leaning, typically around light-switch height or a little lower. The exact height is confirmed against the accessibility requirements for the project.
• On both sides. An automatic door push button on one side only traps people on the other.
• Visible. A contrasting colour, the wheelchair symbol and a clear approach. Not behind a bin, a plant or a door stop.
• Away from the corner. A button tight in a corner is hard to reach from a wheelchair.

Mounting surfaces matter too. A frameless glass screen cannot take a wired button, so the button goes on a post, a bollard or the adjacent wall, or a wireless button is used.

Wired or wireless

A wired automatic door push button is the default. It needs no batteries, it does not depend on a radio link, and it is the most reliable choice where cable can be run.

A wireless automatic door push button suits glass walls, heritage finishes and retrofits where chasing cable would damage the building. The trade-off is the battery, which must be checked at every service and replaced before it fails. A dead battery is the most common reason a wireless button stops working.

Push buttons, locks and access control

An automatic door push button and a lock have to agree. If the door is locked and the button opens the operator, the motor drives against the lock. That is why the button, the lock and the operator are wired as one system.

• During trading hours, the door is unlocked and the automatic door push button opens it for anybody.
• Outside trading hours, the door is locked and the button is ignored, while a card reader or keypad unlocks and opens it for authorised people.
• On exit, an exit button or a sensor releases the lock and opens the door from inside.

The MC-125 has four operating modes, automatic, hold open, half open and locked, and electric-lock support with multiple access-control inputs. The MCW-100 has an access-control input, an electric-lock connection and safety-sensor inputs. Our automatic door access control page covers the wider options.

Exit buttons and emergency release

An exit button is not the same as an automatic door push button. An exit button releases a lock so somebody can leave. It may or may not also open the door under power.

Where a door is on an escape route, how it unlocks in an emergency is set by the building’s fire strategy and confirmed by the fire consultant or local authority. Break-glass units, fire-panel links and fail-safe locks belong to that decision, not to the choice of button. We wire the door to match the strategy and demonstrate the manual release at handover. Our guide to automatic doors and load shedding explains fail-safe and fail-secure behaviour.

Hold-open time after a button press

When a door is opened by an automatic door push button, the hold-open time usually needs to be longer than for a sensor-opened door. A sensor sees a person arriving and keeps the door open while they pass. A button is pressed some distance away, and the user still has to travel to the door.

The MCW-100 hold-open time is adjustable from 0 to 20 seconds and the MC-125 from 0 to 8 seconds, with the presence sensing holding the door for anybody still in the opening. We set the time at commissioning by watching the slowest real user, not the fastest. See our guide to automatic door speed for how opening speed and hold-open time are set together.

Hygiene and no-touch switches

A no-touch automatic door push button opens the door when a hand passes in front of it, without contact. In clinics, pharmacies, food areas and washrooms, that removes one of the most-touched surfaces in the building.

No-touch switches need a sensible detection range. Too long and the door opens for anybody walking past. Too short and users press the switch anyway. We set the range on site, and for hospital automatic doors we also consider which doors should be no-touch and which should be staff-controlled.

Activation by building type

The right mix of devices depends on who uses the building and what the door is protecting. These are the arrangements we fit most often.

• Office reception. A motion sensor on the main sliding entrance during office hours, a card reader or intercom after hours, and push pads on internal swing doors to boardrooms and accessible toilets.
• Clinic or pharmacy. No-touch switches on consulting rooms and the dispensary, with staff-only doors on a card reader. See pharmacy automatic doors.
• Retirement home or frail care. Large, high-contrast push pads, long hold-open times and low-energy swing doors on resident areas. See automatic doors for retirement homes.
• School or campus. Push pads on accessible routes, and key switches so staff control when the doors run. See automatic doors for schools.
• Hotel. Motion sensors on the lobby, push pads on accessible rooms and back-of-house swing doors on card readers.
• Office park. Each tenant often needs its own access-control schedule on a shared entrance, which has to be agreed before wiring starts.

Signage and the approach

A button that nobody notices does not help anybody. The approach to the door should make the device obvious from a distance, with a clear, level path to it and nothing parked in front of it.

Signage should say what the button does, especially on a swing door, where a short instruction such as “press to open, stand clear of the door” prevents people waiting in the swing path. Glass doors and screens also need manifestation, so people see the glass itself. Keep the button, the sign and the door handle consistent across the building, so a regular user finds the same device in the same place on every floor.

What we check at commissioning

Every activation device is tested as part of the door, not on its own. At handover we check the following, write the settings down and show the building’s staff how the modes work.

• Each device opens the door from the position a real user would press it from.
• The door is fully open by the time a slow user reaches the threshold.
• The safety sensors still stop the door closing on somebody in the opening.
• Locked and night modes ignore the public devices and accept the authorised ones.
• The lock releases before the operator drives, so the motor never pushes against a locked leaf.
• Wireless devices are paired, labelled and have fresh batteries.
• The manual release is demonstrated, so staff know what to do in a power failure.

The same checks are repeated at every service visit. As standard we service every six months, more often on high-traffic entrances. See automatic door servicing.

When an automatic door push button stops working

Most automatic door push button faults are simple. Check these before calling anybody.

• Is the door in automatic mode? A door left in locked or night mode ignores the button. Check the mode switch or key switch.
• Is it within the access-control schedule? Outside programmed hours the button may be disabled on purpose.
• Is it a wireless button? Replace the battery.
• Does the door open from the sensor but not the button? The fault is in the button, its wiring or its receiver, not the operator.
• Does the door do nothing at all? Check power to the operator first. Our automatic door troubleshooting guide works through the symptoms.

Do not bridge a button out or tape a door open to get round a fault. Book a repair instead. Our technicians service our own operators and other brands, and we keep buttons, receivers and sensors in stock. See automatic door repairs.

Adding a push button to an existing automatic door

Most operators have an input for an automatic door push button, so adding one is usually straightforward. We check that the operator accepts the device, run or pair it, set the hold-open time, and confirm the door still behaves safely. If the door is a manual swing door with no operator, the button comes with the automation. Our guide on whether an existing door can be automated explains what we check first.

Automatic door push button: quick answers

• An automatic door push button opens the door on request instead of for everybody who walks past.
• An automatic door push button does not replace the safety sensors that stop the door closing on people.
• An automatic door push button on a swing door must sit outside the swing path.
• An automatic door push button belongs on both sides of the door.
• An automatic door push button should be reachable from a wheelchair, with the height confirmed per project.
• An automatic door push button that is wireless needs its battery checked at every service.
• An automatic door push button is ignored when the door is locked, which is usually deliberate.
• An automatic door push button is different from an exit button, which releases a lock.
• An automatic door push button works with the MC-125 and MCW-100, which carry 24 months on the operator.

Automatic door push button questions

Need push buttons, no-touch switches or access control on an entrance? Request a quote with a photograph of the door and the wall on both sides, or book a technician for a fault. We are on 010 412 0062, Monday to Thursday 08:00 to 16:30 and Friday 08:00 to 14:00. Guidance on South African standards is available from the South African Bureau of Standards.