Can Direct Sunlight Damage Your Garage Door Sensors?

12 October 2022
 Categories: , Blog

Share  

Modern homeowners put a great deal of value on an automatic garage door. These types of doors make it very convenient to access your garage space.

Automatic garage doors rely on several sensors to function properly. There are sensors that tell the door when to raise or lower. There are sensors that will bring the garage door to an automatic halt whenever an object is sensed in the door's path.

No matter what type of sensor it may be, you should try to protect all your garage door sensors from direct sunlight.

Light Interference

Your garage door sensors rely on infrared light to communicate with one another. This type of infrared system can be flexible and reliable most of the time, but there is always the potential for direct exposure to sunlight to compromise the quality of your sensors.

Infrared light can be found within the natural light spectrum. Other types of powerful light rays can also be found in sunlight. Allowing your garage door sensors to be exposed to these light rays can render them useless when it comes to the safe operation of your garage door.

Heat

The sun is an excellent source of heat. While you might enjoy basking in the sunlight on a summer day, you should always keep your garage door sensors out of direct sunlight. Too much sun could cause your garage door sensors to overheat.

An overheating sensor will not be able to direct the function of your garage door, and may even be left permanently damaged if the heat from the sun interferes with the delicate electronics inside each sensor.

Premature Wear

Anytime your garage door sensors have to work harder than expected, their lifespan can be shortened. Installing your sensors in the wrong location can allow sunlight to beat down on them throughout the day.

Just as exposure to direct sunlight can weaken the integrity of certain fibers and cause fabric colors to fade, an exposed garage door sensor can begin to deteriorate when exposed to sunlight, this type of exposure can cause premature wear to the sensor housing.

This type of premature wear can only be addressed by installing new sensors,

Some garage door repairs are impossible to avoid. Taking the time to ensure your sensors remain safely out of the sunlight can help extend the life of these essential components. Check your sensors for evidence of sun damage, then have an experienced contractor move all sensors to a sun-free location.

To have your darage door inspected for repairs, contact a local repair service in your area such as Raynor Door Company.