Garage door motors have a lot of strengths over traditional, manual garage doors. They're far more convenient, they offer great security and they can even have additional features like lighting built in. However, they do also have one weakness—they require power to work. If you live in an area where power cuts are common and your garage has no access from the inside, you may feel put off getting a garage door motor. After all, how will the door open if there's no electricity? Will your vehicle still be safe and secure inside?
If these are your concerns, fear not. Garage door motors can be designed with external emergency release features to keep your car safe and your garage in use during a power cut. If this sounds like something you need, here are four types of external release features that will safeguard your garage against the effects of power cuts.
1. Bowden Cable Release
A Bowden cable release device is ideal for single panel motorised garage doors, such as canopy doors and retractable doors. This option requires a garage door with a handle. Bowden cable release devices connect this handle to the release switch in the door motor operator, allowing the handle to activate the emergency release in the event of a power cut. To prevent thieves from operating this mechanism, the handle can only be turned with a key.
2. Winding Handle Release
If you have a motorised roller door on your garage, a winding handle release could be the answer you're looking for. To install this type of release device, a hole is drilled into the external wall the garage is on. This will give access to an internal winder which can roll the door up and down. The opening for the winder is then covered with a lockable mechanism. To use a winding handle emergency release, all you have to do is unlock the access point with your key, then insert the handle (also known as a crank handle) to wind the door manually.
3. Barrel-Type Release
Sectional motorised garage doors usually require a barrel-type emergency release. This option can also be used on a single panel canopy or tracked door if your door doesn't have a handle. This release device is installed via a small hole drilled into each garage door panel. Using a key, you can release the device and pull it outwards to gain access to a cable. You can then use this cable to operate the arm that opens and closes the panel.
4. Backup Power Supply
Alternatively, if none of these emergency release systems appeals to you, you can always have your garage door installed with a backup power system. Of course, no power supply lasts forever; a backup battery can usually only be used a few times before it runs out, making it best for absolute emergencies. That's why it's best to use this option in combination with one of the release devices above.
Share31 August 2019
When my garage door stopped working, I didn't have the first idea of what the problem might be. I contacted a local garage door repair service and they said they would send a contractor out to examine the door. Once the contractor had taken a look, he reported that the springs within the door mechanism were broken. He then got to work repairing the problem. Within an hour or two, my garage door was operational again. The contractor explained that he thought I had been opening the door incorrectly and placing too much strain on the springs. He gave me lots of useful tips which will help to avoid this problem in the future.
