Will battery backup keep your garage door working when the weather howls?

The problem with the power going out is that it has a tendency to do so during storms. Therefore, when considering a power outage that incapacitates your garage door opener, if you have to get out of the car and wrestle the garage door open, you’re liable to do that in stormy conditions. These are the times you most want a battery backup for your garage door opener.

A garage door opener is seldom more appreciated than when it’s pouring rain, the wind is howling, or sleet and snow are lashing the outdoors and everything in it. It’s not that your garage door opener has conspired with the weather to force you into adverse conditions; it’s just that storms are the common culprit when the power goes out.

Battery Backup Garage Door Opener can Weather the storm

Imagine that you’re coming home from a formal event one night. As you turn onto your street, you notice that the street lights. Closer inspection shows that none of the lights are on in the homes of your neighbors. You suddenly realize that the power is out.

As you consider how you’ll light some candles when you get into the house, it hasn’t really occurred to you that the power outage will cause a bit of inconvenience before you get there.

You push the button on your garage door opener remote control and watch expectantly as the headlights reflect off the garage door in front of you. “Any time now,” you say to the garage door as though it can hear you. Then it dawns on you; the garage door opener isn’t going to work.

Now you find yourself, in your best clothes, your hair styled. You’re comfortable, dry and warm and had no idea that would change. But you realize that, if you’re going to get the car into the garage, you can’t count on the garage door opener anymore. The power is out. It’s not going to work.

It’s not going to work unless you have a backup, such as a backup battery.

There are backup batteries for sump pumps; why not a battery backup for your garage door opener. It’s the difference between counting on your garage door opener with or without the storm.

The cost of a battery backup system is reasonably low. It’s low enough that you might consider it worth the cost to install a battery backup system with your garage door opener. On those, cold, rainy, windy days, you’ll stay dry and warm in the car all the way into the garage.

Factors to consider when heating your Antioch garage this winter

Need to work on the car? Have a project you’re trying to complete? Just want a place to sit down with a beer or a cup of coffee and relax? The garage can work extremely well for these activities. But the garage isn’t nearly as hospitable when the Antioch winter temperatures drop to and below the freezing mark.

Of course, if you’re garage is heated, that’s an entirely different story. On the other hand, if you want to put some heat in your Antioch garage, you can create that hospitable environment where the garage is an extension of the house.

There are several questions to consider when heating your garage, including:

• What type of heater you’ll use?
• Insulating your garage?
• Ensuring that the garage door and garage door opener operate properly?

When it comes to the type of heater, considerations include:

• Gas?
• Electric?
• Portable?
• Suspended?
• In-wall or Roof-top installation?

An essential factor to consider with the type of heater is safety. This could move the idea of a portable heater down several notches on your list. But, even if you’re installing a more permanent heater, you want to ensure that it’s installed properly so that there is nothing that would make its operation unsafe.

You may also want to consider a cooling aspect with the unit you install. In other words, do you want to provide air conditioning in your garage to keep it cool during the next Antioch summer and summers to come.

When installing a heating unit in your garage, as well as with a unit that has a cooling capacity, efficiency is dramatically affected by the amount and quality of insulation you have in the garage. You’ll want to insulate the walls and the roof or ceiling. But, do a proper job of insulating so that you don’t have problems with condensation. 

Think about your garage door, in terms of insulation, too. An insulated garage door will make a world of difference. And, whether the garage door is insulated or not, you’ll want to have a proper seal around your garage door – top, bottom and on the sides.

Finally, if your garage door doesn’t open efficiently, how much of that heat will you let out while it creeps up or down. For that matter, if your garage door gets stuck, there’s nothing to stop the cold of this Antioch winter from stealing your cozy garage away from you.