How to Open Your Garage Door when the Electricity Goes Out – A Step by Step Guide

Storms in the summer in Minnesota can be rough. We just saw a storm a couple weeks ago that took out the power for many Twin Cities residents for several days. There are so many things you can’t do when the power is out, luckily getting your car out of the garage is not one of them.

Some garage door openers are equipped with a battery back up. That means that even if there is no power your garage door will still work. That can come in very handy. The Liftmaster professional belt drive series opener is one that has a battery back up feature. This is one of the most popular openers that Aspen Garage Doors installs and is definitely nice to have when there is no electricity.

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If your opener does not have this feature, below is a step by step guide on how to open your garage door when the electricity goes out.

How to Open the Garage Door When the Power is Out

Step-1: While the garage door is in a closed position, disconnect your garage door opener.

Step-2: Pull off the emergency cord. This will enable you to disconnect your garage door from the opener. The cord will normally hang from the center-rail of the garage door mechanism.

Step-3: Lift your garage door up until the door is completely open. Make sure the door stays open before leaving it unattended.

Step-4:  The door should easily open with the lift-handles and remain in place. If the door is extremely difficult to open, be sure to call a professional garage door service technician. Remember that applying more weight or pressure could lead to more damage to the door.

Step-5: Manually close the door till it reaches the floor and lock it. Remember that as long as the automatic opener stays disconnected, your door is not securely shut till you slide the lock bar manually.

Step-6: Re-connect the opener when power comes back, IMPORTANT check to make sure that the door is un-locked when the opener is reconnected. You could ruin the door or the opener or the door is this remains locked.

Have a question? We’re happy to help. Send a message or give us a call to speak with a garage door expert (612) 900-0054.