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Garage Door Safety Sensors Explained – Door sensors are an essential feature of our home security system as they let us know when someone is entering our home.
There are plenty of styles specifically designed for door alarm sensors, but most people still use a reed switch and a magnet to monitor when a door is open or closed.
However, since the door sensors are quite simple to install nowadays, some people take these useful devices for granted.
Sometimes, a do-it-yourself (DIY) solution is possible, but how would you know when to call a professional?
Take note that the greater you know how your home security system works, the more you can operate and maintain them.
If you cannot figure it out, though, we are here to explain a few essential details about your overhead door.
Here is a sample scenario:
You press the overhead door button, and the door does not come down.
No matter what you do, either you press the wall button or remote, the door would only roll down a bit and then go back up.
Then you finally figured out that pressing the wall button down will close the door.
This is due to the overhead door safety sensors.
Overhead doors highlight some moving parts and can be extremely heavy.
In fact, it has the potential of causing serious harm to pets, family members, and even damage to your properties.
Due to these potentials, the security provider required all overhead doors to have a safety reversing device.
It will detect any interferences between the overhead door and the ground and force the overhead door to stay open.
Consequently, there are two ways to detect an overhead door opening:
Through a standard door sensor.
It operates like any other door.
The two pieces are installed next to each other, one on the door and the other on the wall.
Thus, when the overhead door is being raised, it automatically breaks the circuit and sets off the alarm.
Through a pitch sensor.
On the other hand, pitch sensors are entirely stand-alone devices.
They are intentionally designed to sense & detect changes in angle.
When the overhead door is closed, the sensor rests vertically.
However, when the door is opened, the sensor will move up with the door and set off the alarm.
In essence, these sensors are being linked to each other through Infrared Beam emitters.
This is a straight line that detects motion and is considered to be the eyes of these devices.
That is why it is important always to make sure that these safety sensors must be aligned properly to make the lines invisible when your overhead door is up.
Otherwise, these sensors will be triggered.
It would immediately notify the overhead door to stop closing, especially when a particular object was detected trespassing the straight line.
Without a doubt, all overhead door sensors work the same way and serve the same purpose.
However, in previous studies, it has still proven that a lot of home accidents were associated with overhead doors malfunctions.
Therefore, it is a must that you pay close attention to its system’s proper maintenance.
Sensors may seem like a small part of the overhead door, and it is giving us huge advantages, but still, no door sensor lasts forever.
The sensors may become damaged, and the switch might wear out anytime.
Hence, whenever you feel like your overhead door sensor is setting off false alarms, here are a few things you can do:
Contact the garage door repair in Calgary immediately
Call the nearest overhead door repair company within your area to fix or replace the unit right away.
Do not touch the device
Avoid touching or tapping the door while it is in this condition.
At this moment, it is most important that you and your family stay away from the device until the unit is changed or repaired.
Above all, take time to check and see if there are any obstructions as this can be the cause of the malfunction.
If the overhead doorway is clear, you may need to either clean the lens or realign the sensor/s.
Now that you know the fundamentals of overhead door sensors, it is time to shop around and pick one that meets your home security needs.
