Confused - UPS Run Time

[Gordon_R]

I am surprised and alarmed to a certain extent that someone is of the opinion that an electromagnetic lock that requires continuous power to stay "locked" is a good idea! Surely, the lock should default to "locked" when the power fails or when the gates close and locks that no power is required to keep it locked. Power should only be required to open the lock?

Off topic: The electromagnetic lock was installed prior to 2008, when load shedding was not a priority (or even imaginable). At the time this was more reliable than the mechanical type lock, and has never failed until the power went off. This is Cape Town, we are still a decade behind Joburg in security...