Reasons to Have An Opener Keypad Installed on Your Garage Door

Whether you are considering full garage door replacement or are just looking for a way to make your current overhead garage door more convenient you should consider installing a garage door opener keypad. While there are still a few manual doors out there the overwhelming majority of garage doors in service today are controlled by a wall switch inside the garage, a remote inside the car, a smartphone app or a keypad. A growing number of homes use all of the above mentioned control methods and yours should too. Below we’ll explain why.

Don’t Replace the Garage Door, Add a Keypad

An increasing number of replacement garage doors come with opener keypads. The keypad is normally installed outside the door and consists of a standard-looking phone-like keypad that is hooked up to the opener either by a hard wire or a wireless connection. When someone wants to enter the garage they punch the entry code into the keypad and the door springs open. As we said, there are a lot of reasons why a homeowner should consider installing one of these devices, including:

• Convenience I - Let’s say a member of your family accidentally locks themselves out of the house. If your garage door is connected to the internet of things that person might call you or another family member to open the door for them. But what if their phone is locked away in the house too? Or the garage door doesn’t have remote, app-driven access? If there is an entry keypad next to the garage door all they have to do is punch in the code and they’re back inside safe and sound. For good measure hide a spare house key in the garage only family members know about.
• Convenience II - Perhaps the kid down the street comes over once a week to mow the lawn and trim the hedges. With a garage door entry keypad there’s no need to leave the lawn mower and other equipment outside for him when you’re not home. Instead, leave the things he needs to do the job in the garage and give him the keypad entry code. When he’s done he puts everything back and closes up.
• Security - The standard method of granting someone access to the house is to give them a key. But that becomes problematic when the kids lose their keys or let their friends borrow them to let themselves in. After a while it gets to the point that you can’t be sure how many keys to your house are floating around out there. In which case you have to change your locks. And that’s expensive. With a garage door keypad you can simply provide the security code to whomever you want to have access. The kids can do the same. And if you’re ever concerned that too many people know the code, you can change that code in about a minute at no cost.
• Control - You may well have good reason to be reluctant even to pass out your regular garage door keypad code. The great thing is that you don’t have to. Most keypads today allow you to create temporary access codes that are independent of the main code. These temporary codes have a limited lifespan. After the limited period of time is up the code expires. These are great for assigning to contractors who may need to store things in the garage while they’re working on the house for a few days. Or if you or a family member have a friend visiting from out of town for the weekend they can be provided a temporary code that will expire on Monday.
• Backup - Let’s say you drive up to your house late at night in one of Denver’s many blinding snowstorms. You press the garage door remote but the battery has died and nothing happens. If you have an access keypad next to the door you simply punch in your code and you’re inside the garage in seconds.

As Relevant as Ever

Access keypads have been around for a long time. In recent years there have been those who prophesied that they would soon become obsolete; rendered useless by smartphone apps. But that hasn’t happened. While smartphone apps have certainly added another layer of convenience they come with their own security risks and only a small percentage of people use them.

At the end of the day there is no substitute for being able to gain access via a keypad when you’ve locked yourself out or you just want to grab your bike from the garage and go for an impromptu ride on a beautiful spring day. To make things even simpler for you many keypads are available today with fingerprint access. So you don’t even need to memorize a security code. Just program the fingerprints of yourself and your family members into the keypad and you’ve got a foolproof, personalized entry system that can’t be lost or stolen.

The Bottom Line

Garage door entry keypads are a great idea that add new levels of convenience, safety and control to your home’s security profile. If you’re having replacement garage doors installed they can be added for a very minimal charge. Or they can be added to your existing door quickly and affordably. If you need garage door replacement or wish to discuss keypad entry for your existing door call the pros at A Better Garage Door today.