Being In Touch With Your Garage Door

Getting your first garage door opener installed entails more than just buying a new opener. For the best results, it helps to make sure you're picking the right opener and door, ensuring your garage can meet the opener's electrical needs. You also need to decide what extra systems you want to use before it's time to have anything installed.

Potentially Choosing New Doors

When you're getting an opener installed for the first time, it's important to make sure that the doors you currently use will be compatible with an opener. Most modern doors should be compatible, but older or custom doors may not work with standard openers. This is important not just for the material your door is made of, but also for the style of the door. For example, sectional doors are easy to attach to standard openers, while heavy barn-style doors might need something specialized. If you've been considering getting new doors, this is a good time to choose them and make sure they'll work with your new system.

Choosing the Right Opener

The kind of opener you'll need is dependent on what style doors you have and how much they weigh. Typically, openers with one-half horsepower will be adequate for moving most lightweight and uninsulated doors. Larger and heavier doors, such as those made of solid wood or those that are insulated, may need something larger, like a one-horsepower opener. If you aren't sure what exactly you need, check with your garage door specialist for recommendations.

Meeting Electrical Needs

Depending on your garage's electrical situation, you may need to have it serviced by an electrician to install and test the wiring necessary to run a garage door opener. This might be the case if you have a detached garage that hasn't been properly wired for electrical use before. Another possibility is that it's already wired, but not for the power requirements or positioning of a garage door opener. Have your garage inspected early to make sure your garage has everything it needs to support openers.

Using a Smart System

Residential garage door openers can often be connected to household Wi-Fi to give you extra convenience and security options. Some smart systems will put opening and closing controls on your phone and let you check whether your doors are closed while away from home, and some also work in tandem with other smart home systems. For example, you could set up your home's lights to automatically turn on when you open your garage door. You can also get security alerts after certain hours and link these with security cameras for automatic recording. Whether you're looking for specific features or just want to explore your options, it's a good idea to know what you want before making any product or service purchases.