Considering The Use Of Backup Batteries For Your Garage Door Openers

A beautiful home should always have a presentable and appealing garage door. Garage doors are the faces of every house for passersby. This is why most homeowners are also investing in good garage doors and components.

One of the many garage door components is the garage door opener. Of course, you do not want to face any garage door opener repair issues in the future. One of the many major signs that your garage door opener has an issue and is not functioning right, is its inability to do its job – opening and closing of your garage door. And, to avoid such, you need to also consider the use of backup batteries for your garage door openers in cases of emergencies. These backup batteries will allow the homeowners to continuously use the opener even if the electricity that is fueling up the garage door opener is not available or inaccessible. Surely, you wanted to avoid doing the last possible resort – using a flashlight to go on top of your car and check how you can manually operate the garage door. If you need to immediately go out with your car but your opener won’t function, that would be so bothersome!

No Power Supply Is Available

The usual cause of a garage door opener not functioning is power outage. Surely, since you are in the modern world now, the garage door system you are using performs through the help of the electricity. This means that your garage door opener is plugged in an outlet supplying the power needed. And, if your breaker suddenly tripped off, your garage door opener won’t open unless you have a backup battery with you.

Unavoidable Bad Weather

Of course, there will always be a time when bad weather will come your way. And, such is definitely unavoidable and unpredictable. Storms and lightning can cause power interruptions and worst, fires. And every time the bad weather comes, we do not want our garage door opener to not function leaving us trapped inside the house. Well, we have the option to go out but it would be dangerous without your car with you.

Do you have an idea if the cause of the problem with your garage door is lightning? After the calamity, of course, you need to check the things you have inside and outside of your house including your garage door. Here are three signs for you to identify if the damage was actually from lightning.

• If your garage door is functioning haphazardly, then the damage could be due to lightning. The garage door opener will open even without someone hitting the button but will stop halfway. Power surges due to storms and lightning may cause damages to the electrical circuits of the garage door opener.
• The remote controls or keypads being used won’t suddenly function. The circuit that is controlling the detection of signals from the remote might be damaged. If you noticed this, try changing the batteries of the remote. If this won’t still work, then there is damage caused by lightning.
• If you are seeing that the lights won’t just turn on, there could be an issue. If you have been observing your garage door opener, then you should know that there are lights at the back of your garage door opener that flash every time there is an object being detected. Now, if you had noticed that this is flashing even if there is no reason, then probably, there is damage.

If you just purchased a garage door recently, then maybe, you have backup batteries included in the package. It might be simple to keep a backup power supply with you but you won’t know when emergencies will happen. So, being prepared enough when that time comes is valuable. It is better to be proactive than to think about the solutions when problems already occurred. Just imagine yourself doing the manual opening of your garage door opener. That would be so irritating and burdensome! Make sure to have backup batteries installed in your opener to avoid nuisances in the future. You might not know, but those might save you in some cases.

FAQs on The Use of Backup Batteries for Your Garage Door Openers

Q: What’s the utility of garage door openers?

A: Garage door openers will increase your home’s security, becoming a subtle element of your smart home system. However, they will not work in case of power outages, so having a backup plan makes perfect sense.

When door openers don’t work, your car can get trapped inside the garage, unless you can manually open the garage.

Q: Do generators make a good idea for backup plans for garage door openers?

A: You may use generators for some appliances, but keep in mind that they’re expensive to maintain and tricky to install. Most of the time, you will have to use a specific kind of combustible fuel, which may be dangerous to store in the garage.

Generators are typically made to give power to several significant systems inside the house, which may cause overloading of the circuit and even malfunctioning for your appliances.

Q: What’s the best advantage of using battery backups?

A: Battery backups are made to support just one system (your garage openers in this case). Most models come with a straightforward plug-and-play setup and charge of the existing power grid, and they don’t need combustible fuel for running. A battery backup should have enough power to allow you several times to use, which makes it affordable for running.

Q: What’s the best way to describe a backup battery for the garage door opener?

A: Typically, the backup battery for your garage door opener is a 12-volt battery mounted on top of a motor, which will run the garage door opener. However, the battery may also be mounted inside the motor housing.

The backup battery is rather small and brand-specific most of the time. Over the motor, batteries are more massive than models inserted in the motor housing.

Keep in mind that the backup battery has to match your garage door opener’s brand for running; if not, it’s going to be useless.

Q: What’s the working mechanism for the backup battery?

A: In case of a power outage, the battery (assuming is fully charged) will ensure backup power to the garage door for 24 hours. Differently put, the backup battery may ensure up to 10 open/close cycles before it needs recharging.

Typically, the backup battery will need around 4 hours for recharging from electricity. It’s good to know that the backup batteries are recyclable. A red or an orange light flashing every 3-30 seconds will inform you that you have to replace the old battery.

Q: Is it possible to mount a battery backup on any garage door?

A: Some may wonder if they can only use the battery backup for new garage doors. However, it all depends on the garage door model, as some were made ever since the early 2000s. Only a garage door contractor will be able to know if you may use a battery backup with the current garage door or not.

Q: Should you worry about installing the backup battery?

A: The battery backup add-on system is a straightforward plug-and-play unit that ensures fast set up on the compatible door openers. You will only have to install the battery backup safely above/onto the garage door opener, plugging the backup system into the cable port of the unit.

You should wait 24-48 hours before testing the backup battery.

Q: Do you need a free wallet for a backup battery?

A: Buying and mounting a backup battery for the garage door opener will not leave your wallet empty. The type of garage door you have and how you will have to mount the backup battery (on top of the motor or inside the motor’s housing) will affect the final costs for the battery backup.

However, buying a new garage door with built-in backup battery will always be more expensive than installing a battery backup to your current garage door.

Q: For how much time you will be able to use a backup battery?

A: Most of the time, the battery backup will last for three years without requiring maintenance. It’s effortless to charge the battery backup from the cable connected to the garage door opener. After installing it, you will not need to worry about keeping any parts in shape or replace anything. You will have no worries about fuels, either.

Q: Is operating the battery backup challenging?

A: The chances are you will have to use the battery backup during a power outage when you’re stressed with so many things. However, operating the garage door will not one of them. As long as the battery backup is installed correctly, you should no longer run the door manually. Pushing the button will solve everything.

Q: Why is the balance essential for proper functioning of the door opener?

A: When the door isn’t properly balanced, the battery backup will not work correctly. The garage door opener is capable of replacing what you would do manually. Always having the door balanced is essential for the door opener and the backup battery too. A single garage door will weight around 125 pounds, whereas a double door may weigh as much as 250 pounds.

Manually lifting the door will not give you the heavyweight; it will feel like 8-10 pounds, not hundreds of them. It’s because the garage door’s spring system will counterbalance the weight, easing out the operation.

Q: What’s the best way to check the balance of the garage door?

A: Checking the door balance any now and then is essential for so many reasons. Pulling the red emergency cord and letting go the door are the steps to take.  Continue with using one hand for lifting the door. If you find it challenging to do, the balance may be off. Professionals will be able to solve the problem.

Keep in mind to check the balance every couple of months. Do it even more frequently than that, if you’re using the door all the time.

Q: Is it mandatory to buy a battery backup for the door opener?

A: The only thing to do in case of power outages is to open the door manually when you don’t have a battery backup. You will need to pull down on the red emergency release cord, which will disable the trolley, lift the door with the hand, and move the car out of the garage. You will have to close the garage, reactivate the trolley by connecting it to the release mechanism back. Should you skip reconnecting the trolley, anyone will be able to open the garage door.