It's very important to not leave your garage door open when you're not in it for your safety and the safety of your home. If you leave your garage door open or forget to close it, you're increasing the risk of a home invasion, and no one wants that.
Theft and Home Invasions
A garage door that has been left open can expose your personal belongings to anyone and everyone who passes by your home. In most incidents of theft, a person will case out the home where they will commit a crime.
Keep the Door Closed
Even if you know you will be going back out again in a few hours, it's always wise to shut the garage door. And at night, this is even more important. Make a garage door check a part of your daily and nightly routine, just like you check the front door lock.
Leaving your garage door open all night long is never a good idea. If you leave your door open, you are leaving your home vulnerable to unwelcome thieves and rodents. Checking your garage door should be part of your evening routine. You can include it as part of your rounds to lock all access doors to your house.
During summer, a lot of homeowners leave their garage door open because of the heat. If you don't have a ventilation system or an AC unit in your garage, it can become extremely uncomfortable to work and spend time in. This is why opening the door while you are in the garage is perfectly fine.
Many garages are poorly ventilated. In the summer, the sun beating against a South facing garage door can turn the interior into an oven. Leaving the door raised a bit let's hot air escape and brings the interior temperature down to bearable.
If you don't have windows in your garage, another option is to leave the garage door open for a few hours when you want to lower the temperature. This is only recommended if you're going to be home at the time.
Question: Does opening your garage door a crack on a hot day keep it any cooler? Answer: “Yes. Venting the garage can help make it cooler because the garage holds a ton of heat,” said Mike Donley, president of Donley Service Center, 11062 N.
Typically, if you open and close the door twice a day, the lifespan is about 14 years. However, garage doors opened and closed six or more times a day can wear out in as little as four to five years.
It's common for homeowners to leave garage doors open while their cars are warming up because of gasoline fumes. ... Winter does not stop car thieves and the car warm-up period is prime time for vehicles to be easily stolen. They only need a moment – and the opportunity.
Air the garage out periodically
Even after a vehicle has been shut off, it releases benzene into your garage's air. And because garages are also used for storing a wide range of items that release VOCs, airing your garage out occasionally is a very good idea.
Electric garage doors operate for only a couple minutes on any given day, so they use very little power while opening and closing. However, they can spend 3-5 times more electricity when they're in stand-by mode.
Never Leave Your Garage Door Partially Open
Much like leaving any other entrance to your home open, there are security threats in having your garage door partially open as well. Burglars prey on easy targets for break-ins and it doesn't get any easier than having your garage door open.
A burglar can open a garage door from the outside in a matter of seconds with nothing more than a wire coat hanger. All they have to do is use a tool to pry open the top edge of the door, drive the hanger through the opening, grab the cord with the hook and pull.
If you use your garage door twice every day, you will get about 14 years of service. Using the door about four times a day will reduce the number by half and give you only seven years. If you usually use your garage door about six times a day, which is quite rare, it will serve you for only five years.
Lifespan. Though multiple factors will determine the actual lifespan of a garage door, usually, a garage door will last between 15-30 years. Depending on where the garage is installed, it may get exposed to floods, storms, adverse weather conditions, and environmental factors.
It's not unusual for a spring or the entire operating system to break down from changes in temperature and humidity. Springtime is the best time to replace your garage door, especially if it hasn't been given a tune-up for a while.
Lifespan of a Garage Door Opener
It's crucial to know that the average life expectancy of a garage door opener may not be as long as your garage door. The average lifespan of a garage door opener is 10 to 15 years, and like your garage door, many factors contribute to its durability.
It May Be Caused by Sunlight
Sunlight can interfere with the sensors' beam and cause them to act as if an object blocks them. Many years ago, sensors weren't common. Nowadays, for safety reasons, most garage doors have them. The sensors only work when the door is in the process of closing.
Just like any electronic device, your garage door can overheat. This scenario is particularly common in hot weather, especially if you're opening and closing your garage door frequently within a short period.
Extremely hot days are certainly a problem if you enjoy spending your free time in the garage. Without air conditioning in your garage, its temperature can be as much as 10-18° F (5-10° C) warmer than the outside temperature.
Since cracking the door only a little bit isn't an effective way to ventilate your garage, you may instead opt to leave your garage door open completely. Although this approach will help your garage stay cooler, there are some drawbacks to using this option.
By opening the windows and doors in your garage, the trapped humid air will move out. Proper airflow is key to reducing the humidity in your garage. If necessary, use fans to help facilitate airflow outside.
When it comes to heating your garage, you do not need to heat it to a comfort level equal to the remainder of your home (often between 65°F – 68°F). Keeping your garage thermostat steady at a temperature between 40°F and 50°F will give you benefits to the three listed items above.
If you leave your garage door open, weather fluctuations, even rain, sleet, and snow, can make their way into the garage. Even if you don't store anything of importance in there, that still makes it harder to maintain the right temperature within your home.