Before committing to automatic bollard installation, facility managers and procurement teams often ask: what are the ongoing electricity costs? The answer might surprise you — automatic bollards are among the most energy-efficient access control solutions available.
An automatic bollard motor draws power only during the raising and lowering cycles. Between cycles, the bollard is in standby mode drawing minimal or zero power (depending on the model). This is fundamentally different from continuously powered systems like lighting or HVAC.
A typical raising cycle takes 3-5 seconds. A lowering cycle takes the same amount of time. So for a bollard that cycles 100 times per day (50 raises + 50 lowers), the motor is actually running for about 500 seconds — less than 9 minutes of the 24-hour day.
UPARK automatic bollards use a 36V DC motor system. The rated motor power is approximately 80-100W during active cycling. Compare this to 220V systems, which typically use motors rated at 200-400W.
The 36V low-voltage system achieves the same lifting force through a more efficient gear and spring mechanism. The motor does less work because the spring energy assists both raising and lowering cycles. This is why 36V bollards can operate for extended periods on battery backup while 220V systems typically cannot.
The calculation is straightforward. Take the motor power rating, multiply by the active cycle time per day, and multiply by 365 to get annual consumption.
Example for a 36V bollard cycling 200 times per day (100 raises + 100 lowers):
- Motor power: 90W
- Cycle time: 4 seconds each direction = 8 seconds per full cycle
- Daily active time: 200 cycles × 8 seconds = 1,600 seconds = 0.44 hours
- Daily energy: 90W × 0.44 hours = 39.6 Wh ≈ 0.04 kWh
- Annual energy: 0.04 kWh × 365 = 14.6 kWh
At a commercial electricity rate of USD 0.12 per kWh, this works out to approximately USD 1.75 per bollard per year. Even for a facility with 10 bollards cycling 200 times per day each, total annual electricity cost is under USD 20.
For comparison, a single LED streetlight running 12 hours per night consumes approximately 150 kWh per year — more than 10 times the energy of an active automatic bollard installation.
The control unit and communication electronics draw a small amount of standby power continuously. For UPARK bollards with the standard control module, this is approximately 5-8W — similar to a phone charger left plugged in. For a bollard that is powered 24/7, this adds approximately 44-70 kWh per year to the consumption figure.
If the bollard is in a location that does not require 24-hour operation — a commercial parking entrance that is closed overnight, for example — the system can be put into a low-power sleep mode by the control unit, reducing standby consumption to under 1W.
Battery backup systems for bollards need to supply enough energy for a defined number of cycles during a power outage. Given the low per-cycle energy consumption, even a modest battery can provide substantial backup capacity.
A 12Ah, 36V battery pack (432 Wh of stored energy) can theoretically power approximately 11,000 cycles at 0.04 kWh per cycle. In practice, accounting for battery inefficiency and safety reserves, manufacturers typically rate backup systems at 1,000-2,000 cycles per charge. For most facilities, this means the bollards remain operational through any credible power outage scenario.
When comparing automatic bollards to alternative access control systems over a 10-year lifecycle, electricity cost is a minor factor. Installation, hardware, and maintenance costs dominate the comparison. However, the low electricity cost does make automatic bollards favourably comparable to hydraulic systems, which require a continuously powered hydraulic pump that maintains system pressure even when no cycling is occurring.
A hydraulic bollard system with a continuous-duty pump motor rated at 750W would consume 6,570 kWh per year — over 400 times the electricity consumption of an electric bollard system with equivalent cycling frequency. Over 10 years at commercial electricity rates, this represents a difference of approximately USD 7,700 per bollard in electricity costs alone.
The low power consumption of electric bollards also has environmental implications. A typical installation of 5 automatic bollards produces less than 1 tonne of CO2 equivalent over 10 years of operation (including both active cycling and standby power). For facilities with sustainability reporting requirements or green building certifications, automatic bollards contribute negligibly to their operational carbon footprint.
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