Electric Garage Doors for Domestic Properties

If you’ve gotten an electric garage door fitment, you know the upgrades you don’t fully appreciate until you’ve installed one. Imagine pulling into your garage on a rainy day and opening the garage door from the comfort of your car and dry seat. No more manual door opening whilst getting drenched. Electric garage doors offer convenience and an array of new benefits from advanced technology, enhanced security, smart home features and energy/home efficiency.

If you have an existing garage, or you are looking to build a new one, this guide will help you decide on the best option available, running costs, and what’s involved in installation.

Electric Garage Doors on the Market

Sectional Garage Doors

Electric sectional doors are the most common garage door fitment. Comprising of horizontal panels that are hinged together, as the garage door is opened, it curves up and slides along the cleated garage roof or ceiling. The main advantage is that when opening, the door doesn’t swing out into your driveway, meaning you can park right up against the garage.

This design also allows for more overhead space saving. Traditionally on up and over doors, the door and mechanism take up ceiling space, but sectional doors run on tracks on either side leaving the ceiling free for storage.

Most sectional doors have insulation like foam or polyurethane between the panels. This is especially nice if you have a workshop in the garage or living space above the garage. Insulated sectional doors can get very expensive and you also need a certain amount of space above the door frame. This is 350-400 mm of headroom needed above the opening depending on the motor unit.

Roller Garage Doors

Roller garage doors don’t slide open like other garage doors, they coil up into a small box above the opening like a window blind would. This box is unobtrusive and can be placed in 250 mm of headroom which is great if you have ceiling constraints.

Doors made of rolled aluminum are quieter and a lot lighter than steel doors. They also have insulation, but this can take up a lot of space when rolled up. Denser foam insulation is a lot more durable than the insulation on garage sectionals. Another thing to keep this in mind is that the roller box can sit above the garage door. This is something that a lot of customers want to keep in mind when garage doors are being ordered.

Side Hinged Electric Doors

These are less common than the other types, but are still a great option. They open like side doors, swinging outwards, but use an automated arm to open the doors. These are great on older properties that want to keep an older, traditional look. One door can also be unlatched and opened separately if you need to use the doors as a pedestrian gate. This is also great for household garage doors, to allow access to one door for children or when arms are full.

The drawback is needing driveway space for the doors to fully open – usually about a metre. They provide less protection from the elements than sectional or roller doors because of the seal that runs down the center where the doors meet. They are suitable for when the garage opening is wider than it is tall.

Security Features

The main reason why security is a feature of people’s riding electric garage doors is that it is a main feature of shuttling riding garage doors. Modern systems use motors that automatically lock the door in closed position. There is no external handle to manipulate. from the outside. This auto-locking feature provides protection from forced entry of any sort.

Quality matters though. Better systems use motors that are harder to override manually, or require a key to stop disengaging the mechanism. Rolling code is almost a standard feature customers expect when opening. The code is reset after each use, preventing someone from accessing the signal.

Some people fit deadbolts that engage from the inside, to stop the door from moving when the garage door is secure. Others use external devices to easily engage the remote control override, providing more control from the outside.

Smart Home Integration

Most modern electric garage doors can integrate with virtual assistants like Alexa and Google Home. With the garage door app, you can check if the door is open and command the door to close using voice commands. The systems usually send you notifications if the door has been left open for a certain amount of time.

Integration typically requires a WiFi-enabled controller (£50 to £100) that connects to your existing motor and, in some cases, the newer motors have this feature built in. Popular controller options that fit most systems are MyQ, Meross, and Shelly.

You can also set up other smart home routines with the garage door like having it automatically open when your doorbell senses you have arrived home or closing at 10pm with your other goodnight routine commands.

As with any WiFi enabled systems, there are security concerns. Protect these systems with strong, unique passwords, and enable two-factor authentication if it is available. Some people disable remote opening of the app and only allow door operation when connected to home WiFi.

Installation Considerations for UK Homes

Getting an electric garage door fitted is not typically a DIY job. Installation is not complicated so long as your have the correct measurements. The most important measurements are your garage opening dimensions, both width and height in multiple places because some older garages are not squared, available headroom, and depth for the motor mechanism.

If you wanna switch out a door for a standard-sized opening, it typically only takes a day or so to complete. With sectional door openers, the motor sits at the ceiling and track pieces slide into place on either side. Getting the spring tensioning to a proper level is very important, and very dangerous if you. get it incorrect.

To complete the job, you’ll need a mains power socket inside the garage, near the positioning of the motor. If your garage doesn’t have power, you need to get an electrician to run an RCD protected supply to the garage, and you should not use extension leads.

If your an older home or your area is a conservation zone, you may need to obtain planning permission, especially if you are going going to modernize and change the garage’s appearance to a more modern style.

Cost.

Electric garage door are very cheap to run and only use a couple of pounds a year on the electricity needed during use. Motors only use 300-500 watts for 30 seconds at a time, depending on the type of motor and use.

If you garage is a workspace, or if there are rooms above it, garage door insulation can make a big difference. Sectional garage doors in particular have a polyurethanse foam with good U-value insulation and can be an external wall in the quad or range of 0.5-1.0 W/m²K. This greatly reduces heat loss, and can, in particular, be a big help to reduce heating costs in adjacent rooms.

There’s hardly any standby power which sits between the range of 3-5 watts equating to roughly £5-10 every year. It is worth the initial investment as a decent quality system can last 15-20 years with hardly any maintenance.

Keeping tracks clear, checking smooth movement, and occasional lubrication maintenance is relatively simple. Costing about £50-80, annual servicing from a qualified installer is a good investment to avoid costly repairs down the road.

Choosing Wisely

Sectional doors are best for insulation and security if headroom is not an issue as roller doors fit best for tight spaces and easier installs. Side-hinged doors are a good option for a more traditional design and they also work for oddly distributed opening dimensions.

If smart features are a priority, they can be added later on. As this choice made is to be a reputable manufacturer with fit and warranty support. Professional installation is always best for a guaranteed smooth and safe functionality for years.