The Future of Garage Door Technology: What to Expect
For many, garage doors are just entrances for our vehicles. But like several house features that have improved through the years, these entry points have become part of our home’s aesthetics, security, and convenience.
Even more improvements are bound to come. So, what’s in it for you? Here, we’ll guide you through the evolution of garage doors and what you can expect in the next decade.
The Evolution of Garage Door Technology
The history of garage doors can go back to the creation of barns, where sliding doors secured horses and carts. When cars were first introduced, many had to be parked in public structures.
As more people could afford them, parking areas were built close to their homes, and the garage was born. At first, garage doors had the same sliding mechanism as barn doors or hinges that opened outwards. These two options were difficult to operate and had a large footprint.
Things only changed when fabricated internal hinges were applied to the mechanism of garage doors—the overhead door. In the 1930s, C.G. Johnson, who also invented overhead doors, added electricity to the process.
Features of Modern Garage Door Technologies
Today, many garage doors still use the overhead door’s mechanism but with extra characteristics and home automation tech. Here are some notable features:
- Insulation and sealing capabilities: Garage doors are now thermal resistant with superior insulating qualities, saving on energy costs. Arctic-grade and full-perimeter weather seals help you achieve desired temperatures regardless of the season—all while preventing dust and pests from entering.
- Theft alarms: With a home security alarm system, you can add an extra layer of protection with garage doors equipped with theft alarms. These systems offer peace of mind by alerting homeowners of unauthorized access attempts.
- Ultra-quiet operations: Silence is precious, especially for garage door technology and operations. Ultra-quiet lift features keep the peace for you and your neighbours, especially when you have to open your garage door at night.
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity: Smart homes allow residents to control several things from their smartphones or tablets. This means that people can enjoy the convenience of operating and checking their garage doors from anywhere in the world.
- Accident safety: With the integration of impact sensors, garage door technology has never been safer. These smart sensors detect objects or individuals in the doorway and automatically reverse the door’s motion to prevent accidents.
The Future of Garage Door Technology
According to Moore’s Law, the number of transistors in a microchip doubles every two years—meaning computers get faster at that same pace. What’ll surprise you is that AI has already beaten that, according to studies.
We can operate many home features via voice commands already, and AI is getting closer to another breakthrough: predictive maintenance and fault detection.
In the engineering industry, AI can analyze sensor data and the historical performance of certain devices. In doing so, it predicts when a device is likely to fail and recommends users some maintenance actions, hence helping with cost reductions.
It only gets better with Internet of Things (IoT) tech, which lets devices exchange data online. With IoT now able to measure energy consumption, work with other home devices, and read patterns of physical movement, it’s only a matter of a few years before we see garage doors use minimal energy and operate without us saying a word.
Want to take advantage of modern garage door technology? Contact us at The Door House to learn more.