Smart Garage Doors

Smart Technology For Your Home & Garage

The Garage Door Centre are committed to offering valuable modern solutions that garage doors naturally become integrated within.

Smart technology is fast becoming the integral way to control everything within your home from your mobile phone, and so we have recently introduced a range consisting of technology that allows one to manage your home’s automated devices. This can include garage doors, internal doors, lights, security cameras and much, much more.

What Does 'Smart' Mean?

The definition of the term ‘Smart’ has significantly evolved over the past decade, now frequently referring to a product which has the ability to be controlled by a smartphone, tablet or laptop via a WiFi connection. Sequences can even be co-ordinated from your device, utilising your home's modern technologies to create the most comofortable way of living.

Picture this: The rain pours upon your car, but as you pull up to your garage, the door slides up automatically, the light turns on and you drive straight in. All from the comfort of your car. You walk through your front door, the light turns on, the radio starts to play, and the heating came on just before you came home, to welcome you back completely. Perfect.

Why Go 'Smart'?

The ultimate reason for converting the control of your household to your electronic devices is pure convenience, and in many cases, security. Contemporary applications allow you to alter your homes heating and lights wherever you are, not only saving money, but creating a comfortable arrival for you upon your return home.

You can also receive notifications if your security camera detects movement, or if your doorbell is rung. Being able to control your blinds, outdoor lights and other home devices also works to improve your home security, creating the impression of someone being home when you are away, a ‘perceived occupation’ principal.

Why a 'Smart' Controlled Garage Door?

Why not?

The technology exists, and the ease of controlling your garage door with a touch of a button, alongside every other piece of home technology you control with your smartphone, is a simple feature that becomes an effective but integral part of the modern lifestyle.

Smart technology now allows you to schedule your garage door to open upon your arrival according to your phone’s GPS signal and inform you if the door is entirely closed or not. With the very latest garage doors, LED lighting options have also been incorporated, as well as effective alarm systems that sound if the door is attacked.

Smart Controlled Systems

So many products are now being controlled by your mobile that it can be a little overwhelming having so many different apps to control each device in your home, each one with different functionality and execution. Some of these apps may not be updated, creating inconvenience and an abundance of widgets filling up your mobile; in this case, the objective fails as you can begin to lose control.

However, this technology is now improving at a rapid pace. The Garage Door Centre and our sister company, Samson Awnings, now offer most of our doors, awnings, shutters and associated products with the option to embrace a smart control system. This allows you to control all means of products via just one app, such as Somfy, which means you can add products as you go along your 'Smart' journey.

The Smart Journey

So, for example, if you order a new retractable awning with the IO RTS control built into it that provides a receiver and transmitter, you can begin with a simple hand control operator. However, the system then allows you to download the Somfy app for free, if you desire, allowing you to control the awning from your smart devices. You’ll then be able to control the awning wherever you are in the world, and find out the position of it.

In regards to garage doors, you can schedule it to open by the time you return home and ensure that it is locked whilst you are away. Such features can also be applied to gates, awnings, blinds, lights, alarms and pretty much anything which has a motor or electrical switch. As the main control system controls the various devices by radio technology, the range is also better for larger homes and they cannot be hacked. The ‘heart’ of the controls, which in regards to Somfy is either a Tahoma or Connexoon, is connected to WiFi, but it uses radio to actually communicate with the various devices.

Scenarios

Initially, you may only want to configure your garage door to be controlled via Somfy, and maybe a couple of lights. However, once you start to have a few products ‘smart’ enabled, you can create ‘scenarios’ within the Somfy app. 'Scenarios' allow you to schedule for the lights to come on above your garage door at dusk for whatever period of time you desire, whilst you can use sensors to switch lights on or activate blinds opening at certain times.

Enquire Now

So, the garage door is only part of a far greater potential system, all of which is a fraction of the cost of all previous systems used to control products in a home over the years.

When you’re ordering your brand new garage door, now is the best time to consider controlling it from your phone, and whether you would benefit from equipping other devices to this system.

If you’re interested in any of the products and systems we have mentioned such as lights and security cameras, or you simply wish to order a Smart garage door to be automated with your mobile phone, enquire now for details! Plus, you can come and see this technology for yourself at our Northamptonshire showroom >