Safety Features Every Garage Door Needs

At Advanced Garage Doors, we love the convenience of automatic garage doors, but we also know how important it is to make sure they are safe. The CPSC’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) in America completed a study that found that there were 13,000 annual reported incidents associated with garage doors! The vast majority of these were due to human error, which means not only is it super important to have top-notch safety features in place, but it is also important to make sure you know them like the back of your hand. 

Without further ado, here are some of our favourite safety features, that we simply would not go without.

Pressure Based Auto Reverse

Auto reverse is one of the most important safety features on your garage door, and that’s why all modern doors have it. A pressure based autoreverse will cause a closing door to open again if it encounters even just a small amount of pressure on it’s descent. 

To test your auto-reverse is working, we recommend putting a small stationary object (please don’t put yourself!) under the door, and check that the door auto-reverses on contact. 

This feature has been part of Australian standards since 1991, so if you have an older door we recommend upgrading. This is a safety feature we don’t want to be without.

Infrared Auto Reverse

Similar to your pressure-based auto reverse, many modern garage doors will have a small “eye” on either side of the door, about 15-20cm off the ground. These “eyes” send a laser beam between the two points, and if anything intersects this beam it will cause the door to stop where it is, and re-open. 

We love this feature as the door is basically “pre-checking” the coast is clear as it lowers – rather than having to come into contact with something (or someone) to change its direction. Whilst this is definitely similar to the pressure based auto-reverse, they are important complementary features for different scenarios. 

Manual Release

Your emergency release cord is one more safety feature needed in every garage. If your garage door isn’t opening, or maybe you have a blackout, you can manually open and close your garage by disconnecting the door from the motor. The disconnect cord looks like a rope or a cord with a little pull knob. 

Make sure if you do use the emergency release to re-attached it later, or your garage door won’t open! You can read about other reasons your garage door won’t open HERE. 

General Precautions

While we are talking about safety, we thought we’d throw in a couple things you can do at home to keep your family safe. First and foremost, keep your garage door opener out of reach of small children. It’s important to remember your garage door is a large piece of machinery, and improper use can cause accidents. One other suggestion is to unplug your garage door when you are away for long periods. 

Get it Serviced!

The most important thing you can do for your family’s safety is to have your garage door serviced regularly. Remember, your garage door is the largest moving part in your home, and just like your car it needs to be serviced often! We recommend getting a professional to come and check over your door once per year, but if you need some more encouragement here are 6 signs it’s time to get your garage door serviced.

If you’re a bit unsure about whether your door it up to date, or you’re looking to add some new safety features we are happy to offer a free quote (See below!).  Feel free to give one of our experts a call at (07) 5535 1445, and we would be happy to chat!

At Advanced Garage Doors our motto is no problem is too big, or too small. No matter what your needs are, we’ve got you covered.

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