Scorching Temperatures and The Effects On Your Garage Door
Summer heat waves and unpredictable weather put your garage door to the test during the summer months. It’s important to be aware of how extreme temperatures affect your garage door and the steps you can take to mitigate damage to your door system or temporary issues in functionality.
Temperatures in Northern Illinois frequently top 90 degrees during the summer and hover in the 80s the rest of the time. Several factors contribute to summer heat that challenges the operation and durability of your door and door opener.
5 Ways Summer Heat Waves Impact Garage Doors
You may have heard the phrase, “It’s hot enough to cook an egg on the sidewalk!” Unfortunately, for your garage door, the sun’s burning heat is not restricted to the sidewalk. Whether or not the sun hits your door directly at midday, the heat from the summer sun is relentless on your garage system. Consider that black pavement can hit temperatures of 140 degrees under the assault of the sun. Impacts of the summer sun on your garage door include:
- A wood door can dry out, causing cracking.
- The heat can cause the door to expand, causing operational difficulties.
- The sun can trick the sensors connected to your garage door opener.
- Heat and humidity can cause wiring problems in the opener.
- If not properly lubricated, heat exacerbates problems related to moving parts.
Summer Storms, Power Outages, & Garage Door Openers
Unpredictable weather in Northern Illinois can cause regular power outages, it’s just a matter of when it’ll happen. When Mother Nature decides to act up, what does that mean for your garage door opener?
Your garage door opener needs power to operate. Without electricity, the opener can’t work. But just because the utility can’t provide power doesn’t mean your door is inoperable.
3 Ways to Operate Your Garage Door During a Power Outage
1. Link your garage door opener to your home’s backup generator
The best solution is a backup generator that kicks in when the big storm hits, and lines go down. Typically, when a storm hits, these are set to operate vital appliances, such as a refrigerator. Your opener can also be connected to your home’s backup generator to use in case of a power outage.
Since the garage door opener is a relatively low-wattage consumer, and it only uses that electricity when raising and lowering your garage door, it doesn’t steal significant and vital energy from other appliances. Connecting the opener to the backup generator will go a long way to keeping you operational in a blackout.
2. Install a garage door opener with a dedicated battery backup system.
Another solution is to install an opener with a battery backup specifically designed to operate in power outages and other emergencies. Most newer models come with this feature. If you’re in the market for a new garage door opener in Northern Illinois, consider an opener with battery backup!
If your existing opener lacks this option, don’t worry. Our Garage Doors and More team can retrofit most door openers to include it. Ask us to install this for you, and you’ll be ready for the fury of Northern Illinois storms.
3. Open your garage door manually.
You can still use your garage door if you don’t have a backup power source. All garage door openers feature a manual release latch on the inside of the garage so that you can operate your door without power.
You have to do the lifting yourself, but you can get your car in and out of the garage. When you regain power, you reconnect the release to let your opener do the work for you again. If you need help reconnecting your opener, contact us for guidance on how to do this safely with your particular opener model.
Be Prepared With Garage Door Maintenance
Maintenance is like summer insurance for a garage door! Timely and proper door maintenance can go a long way to mitigating summer-related problems with your door and opener. Adjustments and properly applied lubricants take away much of the wear and tear that shortens the lives of garage doors and openers. Choose a professional company like Garage Doors and More to complete the tune-up to guarantee the inspection, cleaning, and safety tests are completed thoroughly and properly.
Beat the Heat: Schedule Service With Garage Doors And More!
The best way to overcome obstacles with your garage door system this summer is to call Garage Doors and More! We serve numerous locations throughout Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. Check out our complete list of service areas. Whether you need a tune-up or an opener installation featuring a battery backup option, we can take care of you this summer. Contact us today!
