Published By: Marc Edwards | Last updated on June 3, 2024 and reviewed by Editorial Team
Home security and safety are probably two of the most important things you have in mind when you plan any form of improvements to your new or existing home.
You may have surge protection for all your prized electronics (LED TV/Home theaters/Game Consoles) and major appliances (Washer/Fridge/Dryer etc) in the house but what about a garage door opener surge protector?
Did you know having surge protection for the garage door opener is also key to holistic home security for your entire house?
We will get to that in a moment.
Chamberlain Garage Door Universal Surge Protector
- Model_Number – CLSS1
- Depth – 8.50
- Height – 2.75
- Width – 4.75
- Weight – 0.3563
Chamberlain Garage Door Universal Surge Protector is one popular brand trusted by many homeowners. If you are keen in getting one for your garage door opener, you may want to check it out.
The cost of a surge protector device for a garage door opener may seem like a negligible small investment (like life insurance) – yet when a damaging power surge comes along during a stormy day, you will be glad you made that small little investment.
In this post, we highlight the risks and impacts of NOT having a garage door opener surge protector and some of our editorial recommendations.
If you are new to surge protection devices and do not know how to go about choosing the best one that suits you, be sure to read more about it before getting one.
Having a surge protection device for your garage and home is definitely a cost-effective preventive measure that will save you lots of unnecessary trouble (hazards) and money in the long run.
4 Risks of NOT having Garage Door Opener Surge Protector
Home Security
Just like the main door in the house, the garage door opener once broken, can be a potential security risk for your home.
If you stay in the top 5 lightning-prone areas like Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, and so on, you will really want to consider surge protection for your garage door opener.
Nasty lightning strikes during a stormy day or excessive current from a nearby power grid or transformer could send deadly electrical currents towards your home.
And if your garage door opener is not protected from power surges, the voltage spike is very likely to cause non-repairable damage to the circuit board of your garage door opener.
With electrical functions gone, the garage door may open up and ‘anyone’ could enter the house through the garage door.
Not sure about you, I do not usually lock the garage door at all. 😅
Intruders may gain access to your entire house via your garage door all thanks to the malfunctioned garage door opener.
Liftmaster 990LM Garage Door Opener Surge Protector Chamberlain CLSS1
- Safely protects the entire garage door opener system
- Protects the ac power line, control panel and the protector system safety sensors
- Made to withstand most power surges and lightning strikes
Garage Door Opener Surge Protector Ensures Family and Home Safety
During a stormy day, unexpected things like fallen branches on a power line or irregular power spikes may occur.
And when it happens, the electrical appliances garage door opener in your house that are not surge protected may trigger a power outage or cause damage to the home circuit breaker panel.
Unless you have a whole house surge protector installed at the service panels of your home, they are very likely to get damaged during nearby lightning strikes.
The power currents usually enter through electrical appliances that are unprotected before causing damages to the plugged-in electrical appliances and tripping the circuit breakers.
The safety of your family could be jeopardized when that happens.
Expensive Damage and Replacement Cost
Your costly garage door opener from brands like Chamberlain, LiftMaster, Genie and so on may be fried the moment a huge power spike hits it.
While it may cause you a few hundred dollars in replacement cost, do also factors in the risks and inconvenience involved when the garage door opener is broken.
With the garage door opener out of function, the garage door may not be able to close or open properly due to damaged internal circuitry control.
Hence you may also want to consider the extra cost of getting a certified electrician in to get things fixed.
And with the garage door, not opening due to a fried garage door opener, you may not be able to drive your car out of the garage to get to work.
The above scenarios may not happen to everyone but the inconvenience can be nightmarish when it happens.
Woods 41008 1080 Joules 3 Prong Surge Protector with Indicator Light and Alarm
- SLIM, 1 OUTLET wall tap surge protector is ideal for saving space and helps to protect your home or office appliances
- PROTECTION ALARM sounds when device is no longer protecting against surges
- 1080 JOULES of SAFETY provide protection against electrical overloads
- Green LED light shines to indicate outlet protection
- NEUTRAL WHITE color allows the surge protector to blend in seamlessly with its surroundings
- cULus Listed
- $100, 000 connected equipment
Potential Fire Hazards Without Garage Door Opener Surge Protector
If you are like me, you are very likely to have a workshop in your garage where flammable materials 🔥 like paint and fuel are lying around everywhere.
When a powerful electrical voltage comes along, the fried circuit boards of all appliances in your garage like laundry machines and electrical tools may happen.
Most importantly, sparks from fried circuit boards may land on the flammable materials that are lying around, a potential fire hazard may happen.
And that may cause untold damages to your entire house.
Although some automated garage door openers may come with a small amount of built-in surge protection, they are usually only enough to withstand normal power transients.
If huge power spikes come along, they are very unlikely to withstand the spike in electrical voltages.
Like we mentioned earlier, a little investment for a decent surge protector for a garage door opener may go a long way in protecting your home assets, security and the safety of your family.
Do consider getting a whole house surge protection device if you do not wish to get a surge protection device for every single electrical appliance in the house.
