El Dorado Hills Garage Door Repair

Tag: garage door opener installation

  • 3 Reasons to Replace Your Garage Door Opener

    Most people don’t realize they need to replace their garage door opener until the day they’re garage door doesn’t open and their car’s stuck inside. This is an inconvenient hassle. But if you pay attention to the condition of your garage door opener and its performance, you should be able to spot the issue before it completely breaks down. Here are 3 reasons you might want to replace your garage door opener.

    Your Garage Door Opener is Noisy

    Any garage door opener will make a certain amount of noise. You’re lifting a hundred pound door, after all. But overtime the door will get noisier. Routine maintenance will help, but eventually you’ll just need to replace the opener. If peace and quiet is important to you, opt for a quieter model. Belt garage door openers make less noise than chain, though they are a little more expensive.

    You Want a Smart Garage Door Opener

    Stepping into the 21st century has its advantages. With a smart garage door opener, you can open the door with any mobile device, from anywhere. If you forget to close the door, you can close it when you’re stuck in traffic on your way to work. Delivery drivers can be given special instructions to call you so you can give them access to the door so they can safely tuck your packages inside. You can view the security of the door while you are away on vacation.

    Battery Backup

    In California, battery backup is required on all new garage door opener installations. But it still might be a good idea to upgrade anyway. With battery backup, you always have access to your garage door even during a power outage. The law was inspired during the wildfires a few years ago when some people had difficulty evacuating their homes due to power outages.

  • Our 3 Favorite Eco Friendly WiFi Connected Garage Door Openers

    If you’re thinking of installing a new door or garage door opener, here’s something to consider: a smart garage door opener is not only convenient; it can also save you money and is good for the earth. It’s surprising how many people don’t realize how eco-friendly a WiFi connected garage door is. After all, the need for energy efficiency is what inspired a lot of smart home technology in the first place — the need to control temperatures when you’re not home to save on energy costs, for example. Smart garages are no different. It puts the control in your hands, anywhere remotely, which in turn means better energy efficiency and savings.

    The catch is many people assume having a smart garage door means it stays on 24/7. That’s not the case at all. Many openers are designed to eliminate such unnecessary waste without sacrificing the convenience and accessibility.

    LiftMaster Garage Door Openers

    LiftMaster doors are designed to minimize energy in standby mode using something known as “phantom mode.” Many openers waste 5 to 8 watts in standby mode. (Some of the older openers waste up to 14 watts!) But LiftMaster designed their smart garage doors to use only 1 watt of energy in standby mode. That’s what inspired Blue & Green Tomorrow to name LiftMaster as the number 1 eco friendly garage door opener on the market.

    Decko 24300

    Coming in at number 2 is the Decko 24300. It features non-polarized wiring, so it’s an easy DIY install project. It’s quiet — concentrating all the sound at the upper portion of your garage. The other beauty of this opener is it automatically closes after a certain period of inactivity. Sure, as a smart garage door opener, you can always open or close it remotely. But if you should forget, it will automatically close for increased safety. It’s also highly energy efficient.

    Nexx Garage Door Opener

    What’s great about the Nexx garage door opener is how easy it is to install. It’s probably one of the simplest DIY openers to install on the market. It actually integrates easily with Alexa and Google Assistant. It’s highly energy efficient, but the performance can be dampened a bit.

  • Purchasing a New Garage Door Opener? 4 Factors to Consider

    Thinking about installing a new garage door opener? It’s really only a matter of time. While most homeowners will only install a new garage door once or twice in their lifetimes, garage door openers are another story. Because they don’t last as long, say 10 to 15 years, they will likely need to install a new opener sooner than a new door.

    The thing you need to understand is that buying a new garage door opener is not as simple as it sounds, especially these days. There’s smart technology to consider (why not step into the 21st century?) You also need to pay attention to horsepower, drive chains, and other factors. Here are 4 factors to consider when choosing a new garage door opener to install.

    What Type of Opener Do You Want?

    There are a number of garage door openers to choose from. Chain drive openers are very dependable, fairly inexpensive, but tend to be noisy. Belt drive openers cost a little more but are much quieter. They are nice if your door is by a living area or bedroom, or you don’t want to drive the neighbors crazy.

    LED Lighting

    There’s nothing worse than a dimly lit garage when you come. Not only is it not inviting, but it’s a safety hazard. We highly recommend LED lighting. It’s very bright — providing your garage interior with practically a day light feel — and highly energy efficient. It’s the best of both worlds when it comes to garage lighting — especially if you plan to use your garage for recreation such as a TV lounge, yoga studio or personal gym.

    Smart Garage Door Openers

    If you are installing a new garage door opener, definitely make sure it’s a smart garage door opener. This technology connects your garage door opener to an app via WiFi that you can control with your phone, any mobile device, or computer. Forget to close your garage door? No problem — it’s right on your phone. You can also have package delivery contact you for access to your door to avoid package theft.

    Battery Backup

    Battery backup is now required by law in El Dorado Hills and California in general. The idea is to be able to access your garage when the power goes out, especially in the event of a wildfire. But it’s still a good idea regardless of the law or if you actually live in California. Aside from the safety issue, it’s just a matter of convenience. Power outages happen all the time. This way, you’ll still be able to open your garage automatically.

    Even if you aren’t installing a new opener, you can still install battery backup on your existing opener. In fact, we can help. We install battery backup, new garage door openers, and new garage doors on homes throughout the El Dorado Hills area.

  • What You Can Do with a Smart Garage Door Opener

    Smart garage doors are game changing technology. Remember when the first garage door openers first rolled out? Suddenly teens around the world didn’t need to dive through the rain from the car to the garage every time the car rolled into the drive. WiFi garage doors increase our expectations of convenience in similar ways. It makes life easier in groundbreaking monumental ways.

    Here’s a breakdown of how smart garage doors make the world a better place.

    Open, Close Your Garage Door from Anywhere

    Any place you are connected to the Internet, you have complete access to your garage door. Say you’re at work and you wonder if you forgot to close the garage door. You can view the door remotely and then close if it’s still open. Let’s say the kids get locked out of the house. You can open it at a whim.

    Set Up Garage Door Delivery

    Smart garage doors completely change the Amazon delivery game, especially if you live in a neighborhood where package theft runs rampant. You can include instructions to your delivery driver to contact you. They text or call, and you can immediately open the door so your package is safe and sound.

    Push Notifications Alert Security Issues

    You can set up push notifications whenever your door opens and closes. If someone opens the door when you’re not home, you know immediately. If someone is burglarizing your home, you can get a text on your phone and then call the police. You can also get notifications if you or the kids forgot to close the door.

    Give Guests Access

    With a smart garage door, you can give out of town guests access to your garage. If they should arrive early while you are still at work, they can access your home and get comfortable. Let them call you when they arrive so you can open the door for them. They can refresh themselves. And until they arrive, your house is safe and secure. You don’t need to risk putting a key under the mat, or leaving a back door unlocked. The beauty of smart garage door openers is the security, comfort and convenience they bring to a home.

    Schedule the Lights

    With a smart garage door opener, you can schedule the lights in your garage and home remotely. This is handy if you are out of town and want to make the property look occupied. You can also schedule lights to come on when you come home from work or running errands to avoid fumbling around in the dark.

    Smart garage doors make life easier. Technology improves our lives in all sorts of ways. If you are considering installing a new garage door opener, look into its WiFi capabilities. It may be time to catch up to the 21st century.

  • 4 Reasons You Should Replace an Old Garage Door Opener

    4 Reasons You Should Replace an Old Garage Door Opener

    4 Reasons You Should Replace an Old Garage Door Opener

    When’s the last time your garage door opener was replaced? Did it come with the house? Most people don’t think about their openers until they have problems. Aside from the occasional battery change, the opener is usually good to go — until it suddenly isn’t.

    Chances are you’ll install one or two new garage doors your entire lifetime — if that. Your opener, however, is a different story. They aren’t designed to last as long as the door itself. So if you installed an opener along with a new door the last time, chances are you’ll need to install a new opener long before the door shows signs of wear.

    Here’s why a new opener might be a good idea if your opener is more than 10 or 15 years old.

    Your Opener May be Unsafe

    If your garage door opener was installed before 1993, it probably doesn’t have the safety features that can keep a door from closing on a kid, pet, or piece of equipment. Doors after the early 90s are required to have photo eyes that can detect when something is in the door’s path. This will immediately reverse a closing door for safety reasons. If your door doesn’t have this feature, it’s time for an upgrade.

    Your Door May Have Security Issues

    If your opener is more than 15 years old, it could be prone to electric hacking that could allow a savvy thief access to your garage. Computers have come a long way. If you don’t have the latest technology protecting you, it may be time for an upgrade.

    Your Door is Too Loud

    Loud garage doors are annoying — especially if your garage is near a living room or bedroom. Modern openers are designed to operate silently. If your door operates on a chain, you might consider switching to a cable operated door — it’s much quieter.

    Your Door Isn’t Smart

    Smart technology for garage doors has gotten very affordable in the last several years. With a smart door, you can control it virtually from the Internet. That way you can close it directly from your mobile phone, tablet or PC. This can be very helpful if you or the kids forgot to close it. Smart garage doors also allow for remote viewing so you can view your door anytime — even if you are on vacation.

  • Is Your Garage Door Opener Installed with Battery Backup?

    Is Your Garage Door Opener Installed with Battery Backup?

    Is Your Garage Door Opener Installed with Battery Backup

    It’s official. Come this July, all newly installed garage door openers in El Dorado Hills, Sacramento — in fact throughout the state of California — will require battery backup.

    But the truth is it doesn’t matter if your garage door opener is installed this year or 20 years ago — battery backup is still a good idea. In fact, it might even save your family’s life.

    The New Reality of Climate Change

    Wildfires are what spurred the bill to become law — a new climate change reality in California that aren’t going away anytime soon. If Malibu can be devastated by a fire, so can El Dorado Hills. And when the evacuation order comes, you need to be able to open that garage door — even if there’s a power outage, as there typically is in a wildfire.

    The bill was launched by a California register whose neighbors had difficulty evacuating during a wildfire because of garage doors that had lost power.

    The Sacramento Bee reports:

    “At least five died during the Northern California 2017 wildfires because they were unable to get their garage door to open after they lost electrical power, according to the supporting language of Senate Bill 969, which California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Friday in an effort to prevent any more such deaths from happening.

    Under the new law, automatic garage doors sold in California after July 1, 2019, must include a backup battery that can provide power in the event of a power outage. The bill also provides for a civil penalty of $1,000 for ‘every offending garage door opener,’ according to a legislative analysis of the bill.”

    Avoid Tragedy — Be Safe

    The language of the bill documents numerous tragedies from people who couldn’t escape. An analysis “recounted stories of neighbors stopping to help raise garage doors, elderly people who didn’t have the strength to manually open their garage door and a mother who struggled to get her disabled son into a car because their custom van was in the garage they couldn’t open.”

    As garage door professionals, we’d like to reiterate the importance of battery backup is not just about following the law. It’s about your family’s safety. Even outside of a wildfire scenario, power outages can be common. It’s nice and convenient to be able to access your door no matter what — even if your late to work and it’s raining cats and dogs in the middle of February.