Your peacefully sleeping brain is shocked awake by the piercing sound of the far-off emergency siren, warning all of the island’s inhabitants of an impending storm. It is the middle of the night, but as you jump out of bed and rip the curtains open, it is evident that the beginnings of the storm have already begun to ravage the typically tranquil scenery of your small beach community. Lawn furniture is overturned and blowing around in the cul-de-sac, water is pooling and beginning to rise in the streets nearest the ocean, and debris swirls in the air. The palm trees are bent at nearly 45 degrees, leaves and limbs billowing like streamers behind them in the wind. There isn’t much time to get on the evacuation route to head north.
You run to the next room to rouse the children, only then realizing that the power is off and unlikely to come back on. Wrapped in blankets and sleepily grasping a few stuffed animals, everyone shuffles out to the car parked in the garage. It is so dark with no emergency lighting or yard lights shining through the garage windows. The wind howls just outside the door, seeming to shake the entire house as you start the car and hit the button on the garage door opener. The door slowly lurches into action, opening to reveal the mayhem taking place outside. As you back out onto the street and begin your journey to safety, you hit the button to close the door and sigh quietly, relieved that two months ago (before hurricane season began) you installed the battery backup on your Genie® garage door opener. It has been a lifesaver.
No Power? Have a Backup Plan
Garage door openers are a convenience that makes life easier overall. They can make your home more secure, more efficient, and can integrate seamlessly into your smart home system. If you lose power, however, your garage door opener – like all of the other electrical systems of your home – cannot do its job and can even trap your vehicle inside the garage if you are unable to open the door manually. If you live in a remote area or an area prone to heavy storms, not being able to use your vehicle can be extremely dangerous. Auxiliary power systems, such as generators and battery backup systems, can help alleviate this issue and ensure your family gets to safety as quickly as possible.
Generators can be complicated to set up and expensive to maintain. They often require a type of combustible fuel that can be perilous to store in your garage and needs replenishing. Generators are often designed to supply power to a number of major systems inside your home, which could lead to overloading the circuit or malfunctioning appliances.
Battery backups are designed as a fail-safe for a single system, your garage door opener, for example. Genie garage door opener battery backup units have simple plug-and-play setup and charge off of your existing power grid without using any type of combustible fuel. Each battery backup has enough stored power to allow multiple uses of the system it is supplying, making it an extremely economical backup system to operate.
Advantages of a Battery Backup
- Long Useful Life – Battery backup systems have a usable lifetime of approximately three maintenance-free years. The battery backup charges from the cable connected to your garage door opener. Once installed, there are no parts to maintain or replace, no fuel to top off, and no worries.
- Simple Operation – You have enough to worry about during a power outage; your garage door opener should not be one of them. If you have the battery backup installed, there is no need to manually disengage the door. Just push the button and go.
- Multiple Opening Capability – You can use the battery backup to power up to 50 door openings and closings within 24 hours of the power outage. The door will open and close at a slower rate than normal, and the work light on your opener will stay off, both measures to conserve battery life. If you have the Aladdin Connect® system installed, it will not be active until the main power comes back on.
- Customizable Applications – The Genie BB140-BX garage door opener battery backup system can be obtained by purchasing an add-on unit for compatible garage door openers – PowerMax® 1500, PowerMax® 1200, SilentMax® 1200, SilentMax® 1000, ChainMax™ 1000, MachForce®, Excelerator® II or TriloG® and IntelliG® openers (manufactured after October 2012) from our Professional Line.
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Integrated Options - Many Genie garage door openers feature integrated battery backup features! This means the battery backup is already built into your garage door opener! Genie offers several garage door openers that can come equipped with integrated battery backup units, including the StealthDrive® 750 and 750 Plus, as well as the Chain Drive 750. The battery backups on these units are attached by a plastic housing unit that sits on the back side of the garage door opener motorhead.
Use our Product Selector feature to search for Genie garage door openers with integrated battery backup. Select the "Battery Backup" option under "Features & Options."
Integrated Battery Backup Units
Testing Battery Backups
A battery backup is only good if it maintains power when you need it most. You should check the battery backup function every six months or so to ensure proper garage door opener function. Open and close the door under normal power, then disconnect the power cord of the garage door opener from the outlet. Press the button on the wall control or the remote control and ensure the opener operates, albeit at a slower speed. Reconnect the power cord to the wall outlet after the test is complete.
If for any reason the battery backup does not work and you know it is fully charged or the motor head displays a red to yellow flashing light, the battery is likely dead and needs replaced. Replacements for the internal battery can be found on our website.
For more information on battery backup add-on units or integrated battery backups, visit our website or contact us today.