Truthfully, almost anyone can benefit from having a backup battery with their garage door opener. This is especially accurate if your location has frequent power outages to deal with.
That’s the short answer, but we’ll share the longer answer of why having a garage door opener with a backup battery is such a good idea.
Reasons to have a backup battery
At the beginning of July 2019, California made the decision to require all residential garage door openers sold or installed to have a battery backup method. This bill was signed into law by the government in 2018 and anyone building a home is required to comply with it.
You may be wondering why this is happening right now and there is a good reason for it. Due to the many forest fires and brush fires that have plagued California over several years, deaths have happened. Some of these instances are related to garage doors. People can become trapped inside a garage and die when there is no way to open the door manually.
This risk may not be contained to only California. Climate change has been happening over a number of years, which has led to less rain falling and temperatures that are hotter than usual. This, combined with low humidity and increased winds can create a situation where trees and other plants catch on fire quite easily. This can happen in a wider area than just near California.
Since the state of California is highly populated, it’s quite likely that the top garage door opener manufacturers, like LiftMaster and Chamberlain, will choose to expand the number of products they offer which have backup batteries, which can be seen next to the motor or in the motor housing.
Something to consider is that a backup battery is only required when the only way to get into the garage is through the garage door when there is no other access door available. In many cases, these garage doors are located at condominiums and apartment buildings.
Are you ensuring your garage door is consistently balanced properly?
Another thing to be aware of is that your electric garage door opener is an alternative to what you can do manually, regardless of whether a power outage happens or not. If you have a single garage door of 9 x 7 ft., its weight is going to be around 125 lb. / 57 kg. On the other hand, those with a double door of 16 x 7 ft. are going to have a door that weighs 250 lb. / 114 kg or even more if it’s made of solid wood. However, this includes the entirety of the door and all hardware like the windows, rollers, reinforcement struts, and hinges.
Curious why this information is so important to know? The spring system attached to your door is there to counterbalance that weight. This is why it feels like you’re only lifting 8-10 lb. (3 to 5 kg) when you lift a door with a hand. This is why it’s so simple to do so, even though the door weights a lot.
It’s important to keep your garage door balanced and it’s not very difficult to do on your own. What you want to do is pull down on the emergency release handle to turn off the garage door opener. Next, use the lift handle on the door to raise the door off of the floor slowly. Are you having trouble with this? That means there is something wrong, but you can contact us for assistance with the issue. While checking this once is a great idea, it really should be done once every two months or so if your garage door is used five or more times every day.
Everything to know about the battery backup
The battery backup on garage door openers is just like other rechargeable batteries. Depending on the model from LiftMaster or Chamberlain, you may find the battery near the motor or installed in the housing of the motor on the opener. The battery holds enough energy to let you open and close the door more than a dozen times with no electricity. Once the battery goes dead, it will need to recharge for about 4 ½ hours. Keep in mind that the photoeye reversal system, also called the safety reversal system, stays connected to the door opener and will remain operational even when using the battery.
Door opener models by LiftMaster
You may already have an emergency battery backup on your modern Chamberlain or LiftMaster brand door opener, but you can check to be sure. It will have a logo that indicates battery backup is available, which means that it either already has a battery included or one can be added quite easily. Another thing to be aware of is that to integrate or install a backup battery, your opener has to use DC, or direct current, rather than AC, or alternating current.
Want to install or integrate a backup battery system? The door openers that allow it also come with the MyQ technology by LiftMaster. This is modern technology that offers the ability to close or open your garage door anytime and from anywhere using your smartphone, laptop, or tablet. This makes the door opener of today the perfect fit for a smart home.
When it’s time to learn more
If you are located in or near the area of Burlington you can Contact us right now at 1-800-696-1926. We know everything about garage door openers and are happy to help you choose the right option while taking your budget and specific needs into account.
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