Due to a few folks not being about to get out of their garages during last season's wildfires in California (because the power was out), SB 969 was recently passed that requires any/all new garage door openers and/or garage doors serviced by an opener to be replaced with an opener that has battery backup capability. While it's unfortunate that several people lost their lives, it's also true that the majority of garage door openers are already equipped with an emergency release handle (that's generally bright red) such that you can disconnect the door from the opener and manually open it from the inside. From what I've read, not enough people are aware of the presence of the manual disconnect and/or how to use it, so now everyone else is being forced to upgrade their garage door openers, at a significant cost, to battery backup type units.
For a Quick Overview of How to Manually Disconnect Your Garage Door Handle - Click Here
I can see requiring homes that are in a wildfire-prone area to be subject to this requirement, and/or making it an option for elderly, other-abled, or small-of-stature folks who don't feel comfortable with their ability to manually raise the door -- buy everyone in California? Seems like overreach to me.
How about a simple battery pack to convert your existing door? From what I've read, the batteries require DC-powered openers and of course most installed openers are AC powered. So that option is out -- at least for the moment.
I've also read that battery packs will last, on average, about 3 years. So now homeowners will have to remember to swap out their battery pack every 3 years or so, at a cost of $20 to $40 (not to mention filling up landfills with a new source of e-waste). And if you forget to replace your battery pack? Well, there's always that emergency release cord with the bright red handle!!
For a Quick Overview of How to Manually Disconnect Your Garage Door Handle - Click Here
I can see requiring homes that are in a wildfire-prone area to be subject to this requirement, and/or making it an option for elderly, other-abled, or small-of-stature folks who don't feel comfortable with their ability to manually raise the door -- buy everyone in California? Seems like overreach to me.
How about a simple battery pack to convert your existing door? From what I've read, the batteries require DC-powered openers and of course most installed openers are AC powered. So that option is out -- at least for the moment.
I've also read that battery packs will last, on average, about 3 years. So now homeowners will have to remember to swap out their battery pack every 3 years or so, at a cost of $20 to $40 (not to mention filling up landfills with a new source of e-waste). And if you forget to replace your battery pack? Well, there's always that emergency release cord with the bright red handle!!
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