Automatic Garage Door Openers: Worth The Money
The first mechanized garage door systems, while a far cry from the automatic garage door openers of today, were introduced nearly six decades ago, to replace the earliest garage doors which were really nothing more than smaller versions of barn doors, using strap hinges to open out. The heavy demand placed on those first garage doors meant that their hinges would wear out in a relatively brief time. And any one living in a climate with snowy winters would face the additional problem of having to shovel any snowdrifts which were blocking access to the garage doors before being able to open them.
But sliding tracks for garage doors came along, and not only made the doors much more durable and easier to manage; they saved a terrific amount of space in the home owner’s driveway by not opening outward. They did, however, mean that even for a single car family, the garage would have to be wide enough to handle two doors. The first garage door system remotely resembling the automatic garage door opener was the overhead garage door with an electric door opener, which C.G. Johnson produced in 1926 to aid people with back problems in lifting their garage doors.
Automatic Garage Door Openers
The automatic garage door openers of the 21st century are only distantly related to Mr. Johnson’s efforts, and have become a standard feature in millions of American homes. Automatic garage door openers are an investment in your home’s security, allowing you to keep intruders from entering your home without having to lock the door leading from the garage to its interior. Automatic garage door openers spare you the inconvenience of having to get out of your car to open or close your garage door when it’s cold, dark, or inclement outside, and they spare you the physical effort of raising a heavy door.
How Automatic Garage Doors Are Built
Automatic garage door opener systems are quite complex, including their remote controls which you keep in your cars, their transmitters and key pads, safety sensors, screw drives, and receiver kits.
Automatic garage door opener systems have springs which assist in lifting the door so that their motors do less work. If for some reason the automatic garage door opener is not available or has stopped working, t he springs also make it possible to raise the door manually. But if you should ever have to raise your automatic garage door by hand, please remember that its springs are dangerous and simply packed with potential energy which can cause them to snap and cause serious injury.
Benefits of Automatic Garage Door Openers
The benefits of automatic garage door openers, however, far outweigh their risks. By allowing the garage door to roll up and remain out of sight, they make it easy for homeowners to access equipment normally stored in the garage when they are doing yard or house chores. Automatic garage door openers operate smoothly and silently, and best of all, they are easy to install so that anyone can make an automatic garage door investment in his or her home!