Garage doors have evolved. At one time, you had to manually heave a large, heavy door up and over your head to gain access from the outside. Then motorized garage door openers came onto the scene, which changed the whole game. With the press of a button, your garage door opened automatically, without any effort on your part. The garage door has once again evolved with smart garage door openers. If you have a smartphone and your home has Wi-Fi, you can open your garage door no matter where you are in the world.
Smart garage door openers operate similarly to the ones you already know and likely have installed in your garage. The key difference is that you open and close the door from your mobile device. There are many benefits of using a smart garage door opener, and setup for these devices is as easy as installing an app, entering your wireless internet information and following the instructions.
How to Use a Smart Garage Door Opener & App
After you follow the instructions to install the electric garage door opener, like the Chamberlain Premium Whisper Drive or Genie QuietLift, you can download a free app specifically for smart home products. The Chamberlain series of garage door openers uses the MyQ app, which is free to download and use on your iOS or Android device.
Using the smart garage door opener app is similar to using any other app on your phone or tablet. You can set up the MyQ app to alert you whenever your garage door opens or closes. You can choose to receive notifications during certain time periods or at any time, day or night. Scheduling is another feature that you can set up so your garage door opens and closes at specific times.
Once you've set all your preferences, you simply open the app and close or open your garage door whenever you'd like, wherever you are. It's the easiest way to control access to your home from your garage. As a bonus, if you purchase MyQ light switches or remote lamp controls, you can also control your home's lighting from the app, which means never having to come home to a dark house.
Benefits of a Smart Garage Door Opener
Security
Your home is your sanctuary, and you want to keep yourself, your family and your belongings safe. Forgetting to close the garage door happens, though. If you're using home automation for your garage door, there's no need for you to turn around and close it with your visor control. Just open your app, press a button, and rest assured that your garage and home are secure.
The garage door is often the main entryway for families. If you park your cars in the garage and keep bicycles stored there, it's an oft-used space. Everyone who lives in your home can download the app and set up an account so they can easily control the garage door too. You can set up most apps to notify you if the garage door has opened or closed so you know when your children arrive safely, or if someone's sneaking out in the middle of the night.
Convenience
Many opportunities arise that would make scheduling the garage door to open and close at a particular time ideal. If your children come home at the same time every day, you can just set up a schedule to have the garage open at 4 p.m. and close at 4:10 p.m. If they're running late, all they have to do is call you to have you open it from your app, unless they have the app themselves, which makes it even easier. It's also a good solution for garage access during yardwork, taking the dog for a walk, accepting a large delivery – as long as you have your smartphone on you, you're golden.
You can avoid negligent accidents, like backing into the garage door when you're late for work and not quite awake – it happens more often than you'd think. Just set a schedule for your garage door to open at a specific time and you'll avoid having to make an insurance claim. You can schedule it to close 10, 20, 30 minutes later – whenever you'd like. You can also simply close it when your phone and app let you know that it's still open.
Even if you only ever use your smart garage door opener to open and close as you leave or return, it's a time-saver, security solution and huge convenience. When you couple it with other smart home automation, you have a house that operates exactly how you want it to – and if it doesn't, you can fix it with just a swipe or press of a button on your phone.
