Your garage door is one of the most functional components of your entire home. Given your family's dependency on the door, keeping it in good condition is important. One thing all homeowners should be aware of is the potentially harmful effects weather can have on a garage door system. If you want to ensure that your garage door is functional all year long, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the effects that weather can have on a garage door.

High Heat

On an extremely hot day during the summer months, the inside of your garage is going to be extremely hot, too. This is especially the case if the garage door faces the sun for a large portion of the day. When the heat inside the garage increases, it can have an effect on the electrical components of your garage door opener. This could cause the opener to work slower than normal or decrease its sensitivity to the system's remotes.

For example, you might have to be closer to the garage for the remote to close or open the door. If you find that your garage isn't functioning like it normally does, check the temperature inside the garage before you automatically assume that the door is experiencing a malfunction. An easy way to avoid this is to keep the internal temperate cooler. Setting up climate control in the garage is one option or you could simply add insulation.

Storms

The spring and summer months are often characterized by thunderstorms. When a thunderstorm is accompanied by lightning strikes, this can cause a power surge in your garage if it gets hit.

Not only will this cause you to lose power to the garage door, but this could also cause damage to the internal circuit board of the opener, making it virtually useless. Since you can't prevent a lighting strike, you need to learn how to protect your opener.

The best thing to do is plug your door opener directly into a surge protected outlet. If you do not have one of these outlets installed near the opener, it's a good idea to make this upgrade. With this type of outlet, in the event of a power surge, it will serve as a barrier and prevent the current from going into the opener and causing damage.

The more focus you put on understanding the effects that weather can have on your garage door, the more you can prepare and prevent any issues.  For more information, contact a professional like those at J & R Garage Door Company Inc.