electrical blackout

How to Open Your Garage Door During Electrical Blackouts

Although the garage door has provided us with countless of conveniences, it’s still an electrical device that is only worth the electrical power pushed into it. So, when your home or neighborhood experiences an electrical blackout, the garage door’s power goes with it. But what if you need to remove yourself and your family from the home? The following includes detailed instructions on how to open your garage door when there is no power due to electrical blackouts.

Emergency Release Cord and Electrical Blackouts

Perhaps the most effective way to get your garage door open during a blackout is to pill on the emergency release cord. Now, this might look a little different within a variety of garage doors, but you are normally going to have a red string coming down from the motor above. Pulling this string will disconnect the garage door from the motor and thus turn it into manual mode. Carefully begin to lift up the garage door with another person’s aid until it pulled all the way back.

Reconnecting Lever

Once you’ve gained power back into the home, you can now reconnect the emergency lever. Simply pull the cord towards the door. This motion will compress the spring lever and allow it to reconnect to your motor.

Make Sure Door Is Down

Although opening the garage door during a power outage is the goal, it’s only right to also speak on attempting to close the door during a blackout. For security reasons, homeowners might not want their doors closed. However, you should never attempt to close your door in manual mode as it can be extremely dangerous. Not only could you damage thus needing requiring a new garage door, but you could potentially hurt yourself and others around you. Always make sure the garage door is closed first.