They used to be considered a novelty, but smart garage door openers have recently become a very mainstream product to upgrade your older garage door opener. But are smart garage door openers worth the additional cost or is it just another expensive gadget that will collect dust.
An Honest Look at Smart Garage Openers from a Denver Garage Door Company
What Is a Smart Garage Door Opener?
A Smart Garage Door Opener connects to your home network via Wi-Fi to allow users to control and monitor the garage door from anywhere in the world using their smartphone. In addition to controlling the garage door from your smart phone you can also receive Real Time Alerts, set the garage door to automatically close after a set time, use voice commands to open and close the garage door and even use a camera to monitor activity in your garage.
The three systems we offer in Denver are LiftMaster myQ smart garage door openers, Chamberlain smart garage door openers and Genie Aladdin Connect smart openers.
The Benefits of a Smart Garage Door Opener in Denver
The feature that homeowners use most about having a smart garage door opener is remote monitoring and control of the garage door. People can now check if their garage door is open or closed from anywhere whether they are downtown at work or on a plane traveling to and from DIA or on vacation traveling in the mountains. If a garage door is found to be open when it shouldn’t be simply close it with a single touch of a button as opposed to turning around on I-25.
Another great benefit to the Smart Openers that we install for our Denver garage door repair customers is the automatic closing of the garage door after a set amount of time. This feature allows for the garage door to close on its own after 10 minutes for example, which is a very helpful feature for busy households and will prevent people from accidentally leaving the garage door open.
Monitor the garage door in real time with real time alerts. The door is automatically opened and closed for you and alerts are sent every time the door is opened or closed. The alerts are time stamped and include who opened the door (as long as a user name and password has been entered for that remote). Teens who drive, service providers that come to the home while you are away at work, a house cleaner that has access to the garage, all can be tracked and monitored by the homeowner.
One of the latest upgrades available for your smart garage door opener is in-garage delivery with LiftMaster myQ connected to Amazon Key. Once your package is received by the driver, he or she will receive a one-time access code to open your garage door. The package is then delivered and placed in the garage. The garage door is then closed automatically to keep packages safe from the weather and potential package thieves. The option for in-garage delivery is particularly useful in a state prone to hailstorms in the afternoon like Colorado.
Another benefit to Smart Openers is the presence of Battery Backup on most openers on the market today. With power outages becoming more and more frequent due to the unpredictable weather in Colorado, it is very important to have the ability to open your garage door to retrieve your car. LiftMaster, Chamberlain, and Genie all offer Battery Backups that can be added to your current Smart Opener, or installed as a part of a brand new opener. These battery backups are powered by standard 9-volt batteries that last for a very long time, and alert you when they are running low.
Other cool things that smart garage door openers can do for you is provide you with voice control to open and close your garage door with your favorite virtual assistant like Amazon Alexa, Chamberlain’s compatibility with Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit or other smart home automation system.
Can You Add Smart Features to Your Old Garage Door Opener?
In most cases we are able to add smart functionality to existing openers. There are several models of LiftMaster openers from 2011 and newer that support the LiftMaster myQ Smart Garage Control. Chamberlain also offers a few models of smart openers that can be added to existing installers. The Genie company also makes a smart garage door opener that can be added to existing Genie Aladdin Connect openers. It is best to have one of our experienced garage door service technicians evaluate your existing opener to let you know if an add-on is possible and what it will cost. In most cases an add-on will cost you several hundred dollars less than a full new smart garage door opener installation.
We can let you know whether an add-on device such as the LiftMaster myQ Smart Garage Control can be installed on your current garage door opener or whether it would be more cost effective to install a brand new smart garage door opener. We have found in many cases the cost of an add-on device plus the cost of the service call to install and program the device to work with your garage door opener is several hundred dollars more than the cost of a new smart garage door opener.
When Full Replacement Makes Sense
Additionally, if your garage door opener is 10 years old or more it is recommended to replace the entire garage door opener. Garages with older openers typically don’t have modern safety features, use outdated frequency that can be easier to hack, and simply may not be as reliable anymore. A smart garage door opener is a system, and it is typically recommended to install an entire new system as opposed to adding a component to an older system.
Units using the old-style dip switch remotes typically need to be replaced as they use fixed radio codes that can be copied with simple equipment. These units are typically 10 years or older and do not have current safety features.
The Cost of Smart Opener Installation in Denver
A smart garage door opener to add to your existing garage door could cost anywhere from $150 to $200 to install, including the cost of the smart garage door opener and the cost of a service call to send out a garage door repair technician to install the new garage door opener for you.
Belt drive smart openers can cost a bit more than their chain drive counterparts, but the difference is well worth it. Not only are they more feature rich, but the increased reliability and consistent torque output translates to smoother and quieter operation. Plus, there is nothing quite as annoying as hearing the creaks and groans of your old chain rubbing against the walls of your garage, especially when you have a bedroom right above it.
Our Recommendation for Denver Homeowners
If you have an opener that is less than 10 years old and is compatible with an add-on device, starting with the myQ Smart Garage Control is a cost-effective way to have smart features on your garage doors.
While you’re upgrading the opener to a smart garage door, it’s a good time to upgrade to a modern smart garage door opener. There are many smart garage door openers on the market. Our recommendation is the LiftMaster 84501 or 87504 smart belt drive garage door opener with myQ technology. These garage door openers are some of the most commonly installed smart garage door openers that our Garage Door Service Company installs. They are reliable, battery back-up enabled, come with a strong warranty, and work very well as smart garage door openers in the Denver Metro Market.
Smart Garage Door Service is happy to install a wide array of smart garage door openers for the residents of Denver and the surrounding Metro area. After the system is installed, we can also go through and show you how to use the app to check the status of your garage door as well as remotely open and close the door.
