Do you feel unsatisfied with how your garage door looks and sounds? Does it feel like it came from some long and forgotten times where rust, noise, and jamming were something common and acceptable? Well, maybe it’s time to get back to the present and do yourself a favor by replacing your garage door with something better, safer and safer for you, your home and your family.
Did you know that about 70% of people use garage doors to enter or exit their house? That includes your kids when they go to school in the morning or when they come back. Sometimes when you keep yourself busy around the house, like when you’re cleaning or doing some maintenance, you are probably using garage doors much more often than you think, or you just simply use them to park your car a couple of times a day.
Another interesting note is that garage door is the largest moving object in your house, and it is controlled remotely. In other words, the mediator between you and garage door is the electric garage opener which is basically one of the key items that are supposed to keep your home secure.
If your garage door opener was installed before 1993 then it probably came with dip switches which you move up and down (+, o and – positions) and it probably does not include a second automatic reversal system based on photoelectric sensors. Those old systems are much easier to hack and finding spare parts has also become increasingly difficult in recent years.
Better safe than sorry
In 1993 it was obligatory for electric door openers to come with two automatic reversal systems – one is mechanical and the other is uses photoelectric sensors. The mechanical system should work in a way that if it touches ground or object while descending it automatically goes in reverse.
The second one works similarly to automatic doors in supermarkets. There is a sensor on each side which sends an invisible beam across the threshold and it is programmed to automatically go in reverse if object or person comes in contact with the beam.
Things changed in 1996 when the “rolling code” was introduced. This system prevents anyone from messing with the code between your transmitter and the door opener. The way it works is pretty simple, it just changes access code every time you use it which would make it nearly impossible to hack since there are billions of possible combinations.
If power outages are a common problem in your area, then getting a backup generator would be another step to a more secure home.
Keeping it quiet
Your old door probably uses a chain drive or a combination of steel cable and chain which can get pretty noisy. In that case, you should consider door openers with a rubber belt strengthened with metal fibers. This system is much quieter and that is especially important if your bedroom is right above the garage.
There is also another new trend popular in Europe where DC-motors are used instead of AC-motors. They provide a much quieter experience since they start slowly then speed up a bit in the middle of the movement then slow down again as they approach objective and thus avoid bashing. In contrast, AC-motors make a noisy bump when they are activated.
Smart doors via smartphones
With recent technological innovations, it is now possible to control your doors remotely, anywhere on the globe, via your smartphone, tablet or computer. You can also set up a mail notification if someone else attempts to open the doors or if you had maybe forgotten to close them. You can also have full control over who can enter your garage at any given time.
So advantages of the new systems are pretty clear, it is now up to you do decide if security, safety, and convenience are your priorities.
Contact Rockstar Garage Door Services at 4455 Murphy Canyon Rd Ste 100, San Diego, CA 92123, USA; 619-930-9854 or learn more at https://rsgaragedoorservices.com/services