Warehouse Doorbell for Loading Docks and Large Buildings

Quick answer: a warehouse doorbell needs three things a home doorbell does not: enough range to get through concrete, steel and racking; a way to be noticed over forklifts and machinery; and room to add more doors later. Look at the 4,000 ft Safeguard Supply ERA Series or the 5,000 ft Dakota Alert 4000 Series, add a strobe or siren for loud areas, and use one transmitter per door with its own melody.

Why ordinary doorbells fail in warehouses

A loading dock door may be hundreds of feet from the office, with block walls, steel doors, metal racking and parked trucks in between. Each of those absorbs or reflects radio signal. The UTSR-4000 page lists "concrete, metal siding, racking, vehicles, masonry" among the things that reduce range. A doorbell rated for a house may work in the first office and fail at the far end of the building.

Noise is the second problem. A chime that is easy to hear in a quiet office disappears under a running forklift, a compressor or a dock fan.

Step 1: choose enough range

Kit	Range	Transmitter	Receiver
ERA-UTDCR	4,000 ft	ERA-UTX push button or door contact	ERA-DCRX desktop/wall receiver with outputs
ERA-DCKIT	4,000 ft	ERA-PBTX push button	ERA-RXPG plug-in receiver with strobe
UTSR-4000	5,000 ft	Dakota Alert push button or door contact	SR-4000 smart receiver with app alerts
UTDCR-4000	5,000 ft	Dakota Alert push button or door contact	DCR-4000 plug-in receiver

All four ranges are line of sight. Measure from the dock door to the farthest receiver location, and allow for the walls and racking in between.

ERA-UTDCR: the standard warehouse kit

The ERA-UTX transmitter works as a push button for drivers or as a magnetic door contact that sounds when the door opens. It is outdoor rated with a rubber gasket, rated -30°F to 120°F, and runs 18-24 months on a CR-2 lithium battery. The ERA-DCRX receiver has:

• 4 zones, 12 melodies, and 4 volume levels plus mute/off.
• Four live 12V DC outputs (one per zone) and one C-form relay.
• An output timer of 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 1 minute or 2 minutes.
• Room for up to 12 transmitters, and no limit on receivers per transmitter.

ERA-DCKIT: a strobe at the receiver

The ERA-DCKIT pairs the ERA-PBTX push button with the ERA-RXPG plug-in receiver, which flashes for about 15 seconds at 2 flashes per second. It is a quick way to add a visual alert in an office or break room without wiring.

UTSR-4000: phone alerts

The UTSR-4000 pairs a Dakota Alert push button or door contact with the SR-4000 smart receiver. It reaches up to 5,000 ft, chimes on site, sends push notifications through the Dakota Alert app over Wi-Fi, and has 2 relay outputs plus one 12V DC output. It is the right choice when a manager wants to know about a dock door from the office or from home. Dakota Alert 4000 Series receivers take up to 16 transmitters and play 16 melodies. The UTSR-4000 page notes that it is not compatible with Dakota Alert 2500 Series or ERA products.

Step 2: make sure it gets noticed

In a loud area, sound alone is not enough. Use the receiver's outputs to add a light or a louder sounder.

• Strobe light. The WDK-ERA-STROBES kit is the ERA-UTDCR plus a 12V LED strobe in red, green, clear, blue or amber, with 15 ft of wire. Each strobe draws about 50 mA.
• Bell or siren. The WDK-ERA-KIT is the ERA-UTDCR plus your choice of 12V bell or siren, with accessory sound levels from 90 dB (2.5 in chrome bell) to 115 dB (sirens).
• Add-on sounders. The SS-FIREBELL12V is a 12V DC bell rated at 100 decibels. The SS-PSIREN-W piezo siren is rated at 115 dB and has a volume knob inside its cover. The SS-SIRENSTROBE combines a 115 dB siren with a strobe at 120 flashes per minute.
• Portable receiver. For staff who move around the building, the ERA-VPRX clips to a belt, vibrates and/or chimes, and has the full 4,000 ft range.

One wiring note from the ERA pages: the 12V DC outputs supply power to an accessory, but the C-form relay does not. A device on the relay needs its own power supply.

Step 3: plan for several doors

A typical building has a front office door, one or more dock doors and a side or employee door. Put a transmitter at each one and assign each a different melody, or a different zone on the ERA-DCRX, so staff know which door to go to. Because an ERA receiver takes up to 12 transmitters and a Dakota Alert 4000 Series receiver takes up to 16, one receiver can cover the whole building. Add more receivers for the office, the floor and the break room; each transmitter can trigger all of them.

Placement tips

• Mount push buttons where drivers can reach them from the dock, and door contacts on the frame of the door you want to monitor.
• Keep receivers away from large metal racking and electrical panels.
• Test each door to each receiver before final mounting.
• Check transmitter batteries before winter. The ERA-UTDCR page notes that cold climates and frequent use shorten battery life.

Extending range in a very large building

If one receiver location is out of range, the ERA Series can relay the signal. An ERA-EXTX transmitter wired to a 12V DC output on an ERA-DCRX that is in range sends the signal another 4,000 ft to a second receiver. Our article on wireless door alerts for thick concrete walls and steel doors walks through that setup.

Frequently asked questions

Can drivers ring the doorbell from outside?

Yes. The ERA-UTX and ERA-PBTX are outdoor rated push buttons.

How long do the transmitter batteries last?

The ERA-UTX runs 18-24 months on its CR-2 lithium battery, and the UTDCR-4000 page gives about 18-24 months for its CR2 battery as well. Cold weather and heavy use shorten that.

Do I need Wi-Fi?

No. ERA and Dakota Alert systems use their own radio link. Wi-Fi is only used by the SR-4000 smart receiver, for phone notifications.

Browse the business chimes collection. For background, see finding the right doorbell system for your warehouse.