Detecting if Your Garage Door Is Open or Closed Without Any Wires or Batteries
Konnected's Garage Door Opener features an optical laser sensor that can detect if the garage door is open or closed.
How it Works
The sensor window on the top of the Garage Door Opener emits short pulses of infrared light and measures the distance of any solid object directly in front of it by timing how long it takes for the light to be reflected back. It can see solid objects up to 2 meters (about 6 ½ feet) away.
During the installation and setup, you'll calibrate the sensor to the precise distance between the ceiling and the top of the open garage door. Knowing this value, the Smart Garage Door Opener knows that the garage door is open whenever it measures an object at that pre-defined distance.
Mounting on the Ceiling
When the Konnected Garage Door Opener is mounted on the garage ceiling and above the area where the garage door rolls up, it can detect the rolled-up garage door and determine it is open.
Once the garage door is closed, the sensor no longer sees the garage door in front of it and determines that the garage is closed.
For Best Results
The optical sensor works most reliably when the ceiling is less than ~1.5-2 meters (~5-6 feet) from the rolled-up garage door. In typical homes with a standard 7ft garage door and ~8-13ft ceilings, this is no problem.
The optical sensor may not work in garages with very high ceilings!
- Mount the Konnected Garage Door Opener in an open section of the ceiling, with a clear, unobstructed line of sight to the floor when the garage door is closed.
- Mount it away from parts of the track, chain, or garage door opener motor unit.
- Mount it so that it's completely obstructed if you stand directly underneath the device when the garage door opens.
- If the garage door has glass windows, mount it in an area not directly above them.
- Keep the sensor window clear of dust and cobwebs.
Adjusting the Mounting Position to Detect a Partially Open Door
The device reports the garage door as open when the roll-up door is directly below it. If mounted in the middle of the garage near the stopping point of the garage door track, the garage door will only be seen as open once it's nearly fully open.
By mounting the device closer to the garage opening, it will see the roll-up door sooner, reporting it as open even when it is partially open.
Depending on your needs, you can adjust the mounting position to indicate an open or closed garage when the door is partially open at varying levels.