El Dorado Hills Garage Door Repair

Tag: Smart garage door opener

  • 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.

  • A Guide to Choosing the Best Garage Door Opener Installation

    Garage door openers make life more convenient, but keep in mind they are not all alike. There is a vast discrepancy when it comes to options, convenience, and price for many of the new garage door openers on the market today. Here is a brief guide on how to choose the perfect garage door opener for your garage.

    Drive Types

    The first thing you should do is decide on which drive type you want. Drive is the mechanism used to open the door. Your choices are:

    • Chain driven garage door opener
    • Belt driven garage door opener
    • Screw Drive garage door opener

    Chain driven garage door openers are the cheapest but are also the loudest — not the best choice if your garage is near a bedroom or a living room. Belt driven garage door openers tend to be the most popular because they are much quieter and won’t wake up the neighbors. Screw-driven garage door openers use a threaded metal rod which rotates on the spite to lift the door. These require more maintenance and tend to be loud.

    Smart Garage Door Opener

    If you are installing a new garage door opener, you really should take this as an opportunity to step into the 21st century with a smart garage door opener. This way, you can access your garage door remotely from your phone or computer. It gives you complete control. If you should happen to forget to close the garage door, you’ll get an alert and can shut the door even sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. It also makes package theft a thing of the past. Simply have the delivery driver contact you when the package arrives. You can open the door remotely and give them access to your garage.

    Battery Backup

    Any opener installed in California after 2019, including El Dorado Hills, is required by law to have battery backup. This was inspired by the wildfires in California a few years ago when the neighbors of a California politician had trouble evacuating their home due to a power outage. While this requirement is designed to keep people safe, it’s really a good idea regardless of the law or any emergency. This way, you’ll always have access to the convenience of your garage door, even during a blackout.

    You can install battery backup to any existing garage door opener. We’d be happy to come out and help!

  • Top 6 Home Improvement Projects to Optimize Equity Value

    Looking to sell your home? Don’t assume resale value is a fixed figure you have no control over. In fact, there are numerous improvements you can make that can dramatically raise your home’s equity. That’s why a home is an investment. And if you play your cards right, it’s one that can play off handsomely.

    Here are 6 upgrades you can consider to boost your home’s equity value and cash in on your next big move. Many of these improvements not only increase your home’s value but your enjoyment as well. Your home is your castle. Live like a king (or queen)!

    Refinish Your Basement

    Refinishing your basement into a cozy living space can dramatically increase the living area of your home. Not only that, but it essentially provides an extra guest space for visiting in-laws, family members and friends. Nobody can complain about additional square footage. And for this very reason, a refinished basement will also boost your home’s equity substantially.

    Repaint or Touch Up the Paint On Your House

    Paint wears off, chips, fades, or goes out of style. By repainting your house, you give your home a facelift. Since curb appeal is so important to a home’s resale value, a repainted house boosts your equity. Can’t afford to repaint the whole house? Then touch up areas that are chipped or faded. Surely your house could use a little love.

    Remodel for an Open Layout

    Have floor plans that are only partially open around the living room, dining room or kitchen? Have useless barriers or walls that only serve to make the house claustrophobic? Reopening these areas around your home make the whole place seem roomier and more comfortable. It gives a more spacious feel to your living area. Not only is this more comfortable, but a more open floor plan can substantially increase the value of your home.

    Repaint Your Garage Door

    As far as garage door repairs go, repainting your garage door gives the front of your house a facelift and can increase the value of your home. If the paint on your door is flaking, faded, or just out of style, a paint job may be just what it needs.

    Install a New Garage Door

    Depending on how old your garage door is, a paint job may only go so far. You may be better off installing a brand new garage door. It might not seem to make sense if you are planning to sell your home, but listen to this: A new garage door has one of the highest returns on investment for nearly all home improvements, 97% — virtually dollar for dollar. This is because a new garage door will substantially boost your home’s resale value. It’s like money in the bank.

    Install a Smart Garage Door Opener

    Another way to boost the value of your home is to install a smart garage door opener. This increases what you can do with your garage door by giving you remote access from any Internet connection. It’s a great way to boost your home’s value without making the full investment of a new garage door.

  • Coming Soon: Tesla’s Console Will Open Smart Garage Doors

    Coming to a Tesla near you — the ability to open your smart garage door, right from the vehicle’s control panel.

    If you’ve had a smart garage door opener installed, you’ve already said goodbye to your automatic garage door opener. And with this latest feature expected soon from Tesla, you won’t even have to fumble with a smartphone as you pull in the driveway to open the garage door.

    Automatic garage door opening currently available through Homelink, but not everyone has a smart garage door opener installed that’s compatible with Homelink. Many instead use an internet connection through WiFi to operate.

    Twitter Inspired Innovation

    Ryan Knapp, a Twitter follower of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, asked the CEO in a Tweet if the company could add an icon for a WiFi garage door opening feature to Tesla’s infotainment system.

    “Elon, any way we could get a WiFi garage door opening icon. For users that do not have Homelink and do have a WiFi enabled garage door, this would be a very useful feature,” Knapp asked Musk.

    Musk announced the feature is coming soon.

    Look, Mom! No Cell Phone!

    The feature would come in handy if you come home and your phone is out of batteries with no charging available in the vehicle. It also allows drivers to access their garage doors from their cars without a smart garage door opener that’s compatible with Homelink.

    It’s all part of Tesla’s embrace of the “smart home,” which includes smart garage doors.

    Teslarati reports:

    “Elon Musk’s idea of a ‘smart home’ development was reiterated in late March, as the CEO stated he would love to develop a home HVAC system that uses HEPA filters for clean air and quiet and efficient technologies to reduce energy usage. The development of the WiFi-based garage door opener could add to the Smart Home idea, as it would allow more owners of the company’s vehicles to enter automatic garages without having to change to systems that are compatible with Homelink.”

    A Smarter World

    That’s good news for us. If you are thinking about installing a smart garage door opener and own a Tesla, now Homelink compatibility is no longer a requirement. You’ll conveniently be able to open your garage door from the console, no fumbling around with your smartphone required.

  • 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.