How Do I Open an Electric Garage Door In a Power Cut?

Power outages can be extremely frustrating, especially when many of us have become so accustomed to the electricity that powers our daily lives. 

An additional annoyance is if you have an electrically powered garage that you’re unable to access as a result of a power cut. 

Whether your local area is being affected or it’s just your property that is suffering from a power outage, the team here at Rollerdor has put together this handy guide outlining how you can open, and continue to use, your garage in a power cut.

Safety Considerations

Every type of garage is different, and there are alternative ways to open your garage until power has been restored. As experts in roller garage doors, we’re going to focus on this type. 

However, before we take a closer look at the various ways to open your garage in a power cut, it’s important to understand how to do so safely.

If you operate your door during a power outage, then you must remember to not close the door down too far or open it to high so it comes out of the guide runners.

As well as this, your first operation of the door should always be in the opposite direction to where the door currently is. For example, if the door is open the first thing you should do is press close.

If you’re unsure, we’d always recommend getting in touch with an expert garage door company to assist.    

There are three ways to access your roller garage door in the event of a power failure.

High-Level Internal Manual Override (Supplied as Standard)

Supplied with all our roller garage doors as standard, the manual override is accessible from inside the garage via the winding handle. This is ideal for customers who have an alternative entrance to their garage. 

External Low-Level Winding Handle Access Point

If your garage door is the only way you can access your garage, the option of an external low-level winding handle access point is most likely to be the method chosen on purchase to allow you  to open the door during a power cut. 

This option is accessed via a locking system in a steel plate on the outside of the garage. The lock is removed to allow you to insert your handle and manually wind the door into positon. 

At Rollerdor, we can supply you with this option as an additional extra when you purchase one of our leading roller door products or if you decide to add one after installation they can be purchased as a kit for retrospective installation.

Battery Backup System

A great way to ensure you still have power in the event of an outage is to have a battery backup system installed. They automatically store power via a trickle charge when it is available, and can be operated via a push of a button from either outside or inside the garage. This allows you to operate your door using the standard operation. These units typically give you around five minutes of power every time the button is activated to store energy and allow multiple uses while waiting for the power to return.   

At Rollerdor, as well as being a leading roller garage door supplier and installer for domestic and commercial customers across the country, we can also provide you with a wide range of accessories. This includes a number of overrides that will allow you to manually open your garage door during a power cut or outage should you require it. 

To find out more about this as well as our selection of roller garage door products, get in touch with the Rollerdor team today. We can provide you with a free quote and answer any queries you may have.