Home Construction Improvement

LiftMaster® Elite Series® Garage Door Opener with MyQ™ Technology Review

By Todd Fratzel on Electrical, Garages

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Elite Series® DC Battery Backup Belt Drive Garage Door Openers

Garage door openers haven’t changed much in the last 20 years other than different motors that help reduce noise. All that has changed with some really cool new technology from LiftMaster. MyQ™ Technology is bringing smart home features to your next garage door opener! Recently the folks at LiftMaster sent us their Elite Series® DC Battery Backup Belt Drive Garage Door Openers with MyQ™ Technology. We’ve been testing them for several months and now we’re happy to report our findings.

Product Features and Specifications

• Equipped with MyQ™ technology that lets you monitor and control your garage door and house lights remotely by using a computer or smartphone (LiftMaster Internet Gateway™ accessory required)
• Timer-to-Close feature allows the door to automatically close after a pre-programmed number of minutes
• Auto-force feature constantly monitors garage door system and adjusts forces to temperature fluctuations, floor height, and door track movement
• The Smart Garage Door Opener® lets you electronically program security codes from the Smart Control Panel® or the powerhead
• Enclosed gear case provides continuous lubrication for longer life and smoother operation
• A 6-foot power cord makes connecting to a power source easier than ever
• Whole-garage lighting with adjustable light time delay; compatible with CFL bulbs
• Energy-efficient operation consumes up to 75% less power in standby mode
• HOMELINK® compatible with QuickTrain™ technology
• Meets all UL325 requirements
• The Protector System® safety sensors project an invisible light beam across the garage door opening and automatically reverses the door if anything interrupts the beam while door is going down
• Sensing technology will stop the door from closing if contact is made with a person or object
• Opener lights turn on automatically when The Protector System’s infrared beam is interrupted
• Security+2.0™ rolling code technology eliminates frequency interference and assures a new code is sent every time the remote control is used
• Patented PosiLock® system ensures the door remains securely locked when it is closed
• Alert-2-Close warning system provides audible and visual warnings that the garage door is about to close when using the Timer-to-Close or remote closing features
• Manual release handle in case of power failure

MyQ™ Technology

The heart of this new offering from LiftMaster is the MyQ™ Technology. Smart Home Technology sounds great to all home owners until they learn that it’s often expensive and difficult to install. I’m happy to say that’s not the case with MyQ™ Technology.

Installing the MyQ™ Technology was very easy. First off you’ll need a wireless router in your home (today most homes already have this so it’s not a big deal). You simply plug a wireless controller into your home’s wireless router (pictured above).

Once the wireless controller is set up  you log onto the www.LiftMaster.com site and set up a free account. Once your account is set up then you can download a Free App for your smartphone.  The directions are really easy to follow and the set up only takes 30 minutes or so.

Once you have the system all set up you’ll quickly realize the power of this new feature. You can check on your garage doors from anywhere in the world that you have access to the internet. Whether it’s on your phone or a computer you can log on and check to see if your doors are opened or closed and it will also tell you the last time one was open!

Just this week I was able to open the garage door when I was away on business 2,400 miles away! I used my phone to open the garage door and let a delivery guy drop off a package. Five minutes later I closed the door and had the confidence that everything was secure.

Battery Backup

The Elite Series® DC Battery Backup is another feature I love! We live in New Hampshire where power outages are a way of life. Our previous LiftMaster openers did not have this feature and it was always a struggle to get the doors open to get cars out or our generator. Now when the power goes out we can safely and quickly open the doors without any hassle. I’ve already used the feature twice and it’s great!

Quiet Smooth Operation

One huge benefit to DC openers is how quiet they operate. If you have a garage under or close to living space this is a huge benefit. These openers are nearly impossible to hear when they open from inside an insulated room. The only downside (and this is a really small downside) is DC openers open much slower than regular AC units. I’d guess they open 40% slower than my previous openers. However, that’s a small price to pay for the convenience of the battery backup feature!

Smart Control Panel®

The Smart Control Panel® for this opener is also great. These panels not only list the time but they give you temperature readings for your garage, they have a motion sensor that turns on the garage opener lights and you can make adjustments to the openers from easy to use menus. At first they seemed complicated but I’ve grown to really like them and all the adjustments I can make now.

Short Video Demonstration

Check out a quick video demonstration that I created. It shows you how easy it is to use the new LiftMaster MyQ™ Technology.

Final Thoughts

I’ve been using LiftMaster Garage Door Openers for years in both my own homes and the houses that I build for customers. It’s a brand that I’ve come to trust and know very well.  The new MyQ™ Technology is really great. Frankly I can’t find one bad thing to say about it other than I wish it was available years ago! The new Elite Series® Garage Door Openers are also really great. Packed with great features like their Battery Backup and Smart Control Panel® these are top of the line garage door openers. If you’re in the market for a new garage door opener then I highly recommend the LiftMaster brand.

If you’re interested in finding a local dealer than simply click on THIS LINK for a dealer locator.