Technical

How do I comply with DDA Opening Forces when fitting door closers?

The opening forces for doors, as specified by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and now covered under the Equality Act, are designed to ensure accessibility for all users, including those with disabilities.

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Here are the key requirements:

From 0° to 30° Open: The opening force should be no more than 30 Newtons (N).
From 30° to 60° Open: The opening force should be no more than 22.5 Newtons (N)¹<².

The force measurement should be taken from the leading edge of the door.

These standards help ensure that doors are accessible to people with varying levels of physical strength, including wheelchair users and those with limited upper body strength.

There are a number of factors that can influence the opening force required, however one of the main challenges is when door closers are fitted.

Another other key factor is the width of the door. The narrower a door leaf mounted with a closer is, the more force is required to open the door.

Many door closers are now tested against different width doors to ascertain the narrowest door that they can be mounted to and still conform to the DDA opening force recommendations.

In general, cam action door closers are more efficient and require lower opening forces, hence are suitable for narrower door leaves than other types.

However, this still assumes perfect conditions. There are a number of other factors that could influence the opening force, for instance –

Type and condition of hinges
Air Pressure differences
Threshold seals or weatherstripping
Weight of door leaf

In areas where the opening force requirement is likely to be of high importance, e.g. hospitals/accessible WCs, a consideration would be to install automatic door operators that can be opened with a touch of a button. However there is a large cost implication to this option.