Your garage door is an essential part of your home’s style and defense, even if it isn’t the first feature that springs to mind. When it comes to garage door technology for operating garage doors, there is no shortage of options. Here are just a few available features for modern garage doors.
Opening Technology
- Manual operation: The old standby of a handle and a bit of physical energy still works. If you use your garage for extra storage or as a workshop, you might not mind opening the door by hand. It isn’t convenient to open your garage manually, though. If you store your vehicle in the garage, you don’t want to have to leave your vehicle every time you need to open or shut the door. In that case, you likely want a garage door opener.
- Door openers: Most automatic door openers use electric motors and a trolley that moves along a track to pull the door open. A chain, belt, or screw pulls the trolley to lift the garage door. Other openers, like the jackshaft opener which uses a torsion rod, are available, but they are not as common. Most door openers have a button inside the garage or inside the home to open or close the door. Typically, they also have remote options for operating the door.
Remote Technology
- Remote controls: Remote garage door openers have been available since the middle of the 20th century. These remote devices typically use radio signals to operate the door, and they are convenient to keep in your vehicle, allowing you to open and close your garage door without leaving your vehicle.
- Smart openers: These garage door openers connect to your home network and allow you to operate your door with your smart phone. This means you could open the door for a delivery person or a neighbor even while you are at work or on vacation. They can also alert you if you accidentally left the door open after leaving the house.
- Home security integration: Many modern home security installations include options for the garage door and can alert you if the door is left open.
- Timers: Some garage door openers have programming options. You can program them to close after five or ten minutes of being opening, which means you won’t come home after work to an open garage because you forgot to close it in the morning.
Safety Options
- Electronic eyes: Most new garage doors have safety sensors to ensure that the door does not close if anything is obstructing its path. That means no one will be pinned under the door and no valuables will be accidentally crushed.
- Battery backup: If you’re power goes out, you don’t want your vehicle stuck in the garage. Many systems have emergency batteries to allow you still operate the door even if your electricity is out.
- Automatic reversal: Some systems will not allow the door to close if it makes contact with an object and senses excess pressure. This is similar to the electronic eye feature, but it will reverse direction if there is as little as fifteen pounds of resistance, which eliminates any crushing hazard.
As you can see, there are many options available for operating your garage door, from simple muscle power to 21st century technology that gives you control from anywhere in the world. For information about installation or maintenance of your garage door, contact Us at A Plus Garage Doors today to speak with one of our professionals. Call us in the Eastern Shore area at 251 626-0773 and in the South Baldwin County area at 251 971-3331.