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My garage door opener broke the other week. California has a law signed by Gavin Newsom requiring all new door openers to have a battery backup. Well meaning -

My garage door opener broke the other week. California has a law signed by Gavin Newsom requiring all new door openers to have a battery backup. Well meaning - it is intended to allow people to get their cars out of the garage in the event of a power outage (think Paradise fires). It increases the cost of an opener around $400. Thing is my door has a spring that allows me to lift the door with 2 fingers. There is still a chance the battery backup may not work and is unnecessary for me. It is hard to see how the manual solution would ever fail. I can see passing a law that requires a solution for power failure but what I don't get is why they have to specify exactly what that solution is. CA has tons of such edicts. They greatly delay and increase the cost of doing just about everything with a home (it can takes years to get solar installed). So much so people tend to do things without permits to avoid the time sink and expense which ultimately defeats the purpose.

kevviiinn 4y ago
Every garage door I've seen has had a spring and a release so you can open it easily, why on earth would a battery be needed
bradknowles 4y ago
Many times, the springs are very poorly adjusted, and so the garage door cannot be easily opened without an electric motor to do the lifting. The fact that yours is well adjusted doesn't change this fact. Moreover, the method of opening a well adjusted garage door without power is only available to you if you can reach the handle to pull down on the cord. People who are short enough, or in a wheelchair are unlikely to be able to reach that handle. And that long handle on a cord is also a security risk -- criminals can take a properly bent coat hanger wire, pass the wire between the door and the wall, snag the cord, and pull down on the handle from outside. And then they will be able to open the garage door, just by pushing up on it. There's lots of reasons why a law like this might be passed. These are only three that I can think of based on personal experience with garage doors during power outage conditions. Yes, we have a garage door with a battery backup. The lights aren't powered by the battery, but the garage door will still open during a power outage. And my wife will be able to press the button on the wall or on a remote, and not have to worry about whether she will be able to reach the handle on the cord or whether she will be strong enough to lift the door by pulling the handle.
- strangattractor 4y ago
  As you pointed out there are a myriad of circumstances that can occur. Being so specific about a solution seems wrong headed to me. Imagine getting your new door opener and every thing works. Do you really think many people will unplug it each year and verify that the battery is still effective? I haven't even tried it and mine is new. Should we pass a law requiring everyone with a battery backed door opener to prove that they check it each year and that it works? For my situation the manual solution is optimal. We can reach everything and door opens easily. Not only that the car I would actually escape in is parked on the street. The garage car is an EV and would not be my first choice for escape. Everyone situation is different. Don't even get me started about SF's requiring home owners to fix uneven sidewalks:)
  - bradknowles 4y ago
    Whether we want to or not, Austin has enough power outages that we definitely test the battery backup on our garage door more often than once a year. We had to test it just a few days ago, in fact. I can't speak for any other locations. But I will say that these systems usually last multiple years, so even if you're not testing them every year, you're probably still okay. I've got enough APC SmartUPS battery backup systems in the house to confirm that much. But for you, there is no harm in having a backup battery that you don't need to use that frequently. You can do your manual method whenever you want, without harming the battery backup system. But having a mandatory annual checkup isn't a bad idea. We do that for pilots, and I think we should do that for anyone who has firearms -- make that part of the licensing process. Making homeowners responsible for fixing the sidewalks in front of their house also makes sense. That's an important piece of neighborhood infrastructure, and it needs to be properly maintained. And if you don't, then you're liable for anyone who gets injured by it. As well as being ticketed by the city.
    - strangattractor 3y ago
      Pilots and people with guns kill people when they f-up. The .5 inch uneven sidewalk is unlikely to do so. Exactly how many unnecessary $400 dollar repairs and mandates can people afford? The problem is there isn't just one rule like this there are many. Every department thinks their little $400 extra cost is no problem. Sure I can afford it - I'm just whining - but there are many other people that cannot. It is exactly this thinking that helps people end up homeless. But hey if the City spends over a million dollars to change the name of schools because they think Lincoln is a racist - no problem. Making home owners responsible for city repairs is likely also a bad idea. Many of the repairs of side walks I see are falling apart after less than a year because they do it themselves or get it done extremely cheaply. The city regularly has to do this work - from what I can tell they do it correctly. Not only that it is enforced haphazardly. I can walk around my block and find portions of sidewalk in far worse condition with no city notice in sight. Don't worry - in a few more years the population of Austin will creep up to a point where you will start getting hit with same type of thinking. Good Luck!

kevviiinn 4y ago

Every garage door I've seen has had a spring and a release so you can open it easily, why on earth would a battery be needed

bradknowles 4y ago

Many times, the springs are very poorly adjusted, and so the garage door cannot be easily opened without an electric motor to do the lifting. The fact that yours is well adjusted doesn't change this fact. Moreover, the method of opening a well adjusted garage door without power is only available to you if you can reach the handle to pull down on the cord. People who are short enough, or in a wheelchair are unlikely to be able to reach that handle. And that long handle on a cord is also a security risk -- criminals can take a properly bent coat hanger wire, pass the wire between the door and the wall, snag the cord, and pull down on the handle from outside. And then they will be able to open the garage door, just by pushing up on it. There's lots of reasons why a law like this might be passed. These are only three that I can think of based on personal experience with garage doors during power outage conditions. Yes, we have a garage door with a battery backup. The lights aren't powered by the battery, but the garage door will still open during a power outage. And my wife will be able to press the button on the wall or on a remote, and not have to worry about whether she will be able to reach the handle on the cord or whether she will be strong enough to lift the door by pulling the handle.

strangattractor 4y ago
As you pointed out there are a myriad of circumstances that can occur. Being so specific about a solution seems wrong headed to me. Imagine getting your new door opener and every thing works. Do you really think many people will unplug it each year and verify that the battery is still effective? I haven't even tried it and mine is new. Should we pass a law requiring everyone with a battery backed door opener to prove that they check it each year and that it works? For my situation the manual solution is optimal. We can reach everything and door opens easily. Not only that the car I would actually escape in is parked on the street. The garage car is an EV and would not be my first choice for escape. Everyone situation is different. Don't even get me started about SF's requiring home owners to fix uneven sidewalks:)
- bradknowles 4y ago
  Whether we want to or not, Austin has enough power outages that we definitely test the battery backup on our garage door more often than once a year. We had to test it just a few days ago, in fact. I can't speak for any other locations. But I will say that these systems usually last multiple years, so even if you're not testing them every year, you're probably still okay. I've got enough APC SmartUPS battery backup systems in the house to confirm that much. But for you, there is no harm in having a backup battery that you don't need to use that frequently. You can do your manual method whenever you want, without harming the battery backup system. But having a mandatory annual checkup isn't a bad idea. We do that for pilots, and I think we should do that for anyone who has firearms -- make that part of the licensing process. Making homeowners responsible for fixing the sidewalks in front of their house also makes sense. That's an important piece of neighborhood infrastructure, and it needs to be properly maintained. And if you don't, then you're liable for anyone who gets injured by it. As well as being ticketed by the city.
  - strangattractor 3y ago
    Pilots and people with guns kill people when they f-up. The .5 inch uneven sidewalk is unlikely to do so. Exactly how many unnecessary $400 dollar repairs and mandates can people afford? The problem is there isn't just one rule like this there are many. Every department thinks their little $400 extra cost is no problem. Sure I can afford it - I'm just whining - but there are many other people that cannot. It is exactly this thinking that helps people end up homeless. But hey if the City spends over a million dollars to change the name of schools because they think Lincoln is a racist - no problem. Making home owners responsible for city repairs is likely also a bad idea. Many of the repairs of side walks I see are falling apart after less than a year because they do it themselves or get it done extremely cheaply. The city regularly has to do this work - from what I can tell they do it correctly. Not only that it is enforced haphazardly. I can walk around my block and find portions of sidewalk in far worse condition with no city notice in sight. Don't worry - in a few more years the population of Austin will creep up to a point where you will start getting hit with same type of thinking. Good Luck!