September 13, 2019

Is it worth getting a garage door opener that has a backup battery?

The quick answer is yes, especially if you experience frequent power outages in the area where you live.

Read on to learn why it’s important for an electric garage door opener to have a backup battery.

Battery backup

Why do I need a backup battery?

To bring you up to date, as of July 1, 2019, the state of California requires that all newly sold or installed garage door openers for residential applications come equipped with a backup battery. The governor signed the bill into law in September 2019 and home builders must comply with it.

How did we get to this point? In the wake of numerous brushfires and forest fires that California has experienced in recent years, there have unfortunately been deaths. Some of these were attributed to situations where people were trapped and perished because they could not open their garage doors manually.

Has this risk spread to other areas of North America? We are all aware of the fact that climate change over the last few decades has raised temperatures and reduced rainfall. With these conditions, combined with high winds and low humidity, trees and vegetation create a tinderbox. So these fire conditions could occur in a wider geographic area.

It should be noted that with California’s huge population, it more than likely that garage door opener manufacturers, like LiftMaster and Chamberlain, will expand their range of products that come with backup batteries, either integrated in the motor housing or added on next to the motor.

You should not overlook the fact that a backup battery becomes almost a necessity if the only access to the garage is via the garage door, meaning there is no access door to the garage. This is often the case with common exterior garages found with apartment or condo high-rises.

Your garage door needs to be properly balanced at all times

Always bear in mind that an electric garage door opener simply replaces what you can do manually, whether there is a power outage or not. The weight of a metal garage door is either around 125 lb. / 57 kg for a single door (9 x 7 ft.) or 250 lb. / 114 kg for a double door (16 x 7 ft.), while even more if we are talking about a solid wood door. This weight includes the door sections and all the related hardware – rollers, hinges, windows, and reinforcement struts.

So what does that mean? Well, it means your spring system must counterbalance that weight to bring it to between 8 to 10 lb. (3 to 5 kg) at most. At this weight, you can understand that it is easy to lift the door with no problem.

Double Garage Door Opener

How do you know if your garage door is properly balanced? Disengage the garage door opener by pulling down on the emergency release handle. Then take the lift handle, located on the lowest or second lowest section, and slowly lift the door. If you have to strain to do this, you’ve found the problem. Contact us right away for us to straighten everything out. By the way, this type of check should be done every 2 months or more often if you use your garage door more than 5 times a day.

The battery itself…

It is just like another rechargeable battery, and depending on the model of Chamberlain or LiftMaster door opener, the battery will be integrated in the housing of the motor or installed near the motor. The battery stores enough energy to allow you to open and close your garage door twenty or so times. If the battery is dead, it takes around 4 ½ hours to recharge. It is also reassuring to know that the safety reverse systems (e.g. the photo eye reversal system) connected to the door opener are also operational and are powered by the backup battery.

Battery backup

What models are offered by LiftMaster?

If you have a fairly new Chamberlain or LiftMaster brand door opener and on it there is a logo indicating Battery Backup, then you already have a door opener equipped with an emergency battery backup, or that you can add a battery in the future. It is important to know that in order to install or integrate a backup battery, the opener motor must be a DC (Direct Current) and not an AC (Alternating Current) type.

Belt-Drive opener Wled

Be aware that it is easy to install or integrate a backup battery. These door openers also possess LiftMaster’s latest technology, MyQ, which allows you to open and close your garage door from your smartphone, tablet or laptop, wherever you are in the world. This means door openers can also be part of today’s smart homes.

Battery backup

For more information…

If you live in or near the cities of Greensburg, PA, then contact us right now at 724-834-8450. We know garage door openers better than anyone else. We are here to help you select the best device to buy while taking into account your needs and budget.

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