Automate Garage Doors

[rappa]

I would like to implement a solution to that prevents us from leaving the garage doors open at night (we are forgetful at times) and notifies me if I don't close the garage door in the morning (maybe via sms message).

I had thought about putting some wireless GE/ITI sensors on the doors (currently have a Concord Express) so that when we arm the system at night, it would protest if a door is open. My concern with this solution is there may be some undesirable consequences (e.g. can I race to the keypad in time after I open the garage door when coming home from work).

Another aspect of this solution would be logging garage door open/close events. From what I've read so far, this should be easy to do with Homeseer and a plugin to the security system.

A nice-to-have would be the abilty to close the garage door via cell phone/web page.

I'd appreciate hearing of how others are solving this sort of problem. Thanks.

 

[AnthonyZ]

HAI OPII via either the relay board (hardwired to motor's contacts) or UPB I/O module then wired to motor's contacts. In either case I contact the door to track position and then use PIR's to ensure safety (ie: if garage motion secure, close away).

 

[TCassio]

What I do is, I have a couple of DS10A's wired to a set of contacts, and if the door is left open for more the 7 minutes it plays an announcement over the whole house audio system, and will repeat every 7 minutes until the door is closed.

 

[rappa]

What I do is, I have a couple of DS10A's wired to a set of contacts, and if the door is left open for more the 7 minutes it plays an announcement over the whole house audio system, and will repeat every 7 minutes until the door is closed.

Thanks for the suggestion. Are you using the W800RF to receive the signal? How is the range?

 

[robertmee]

I have the ITI wireless sensors on the door for my Caddx system. I have them setup on their own zone delay of 4 minutes to give time to park the car and disarm the system. You could also couple this with a remote keyfob to disarm the system from the car.

 

[mtwalsh367]

I have an M1 system and have done several things with the garage doors. I have hard wired heavy duty magnetic contact switches on the each door (I have 2 doors). I have 2 relays on the M1, with the wires running to each door opener, and this allows me to control the garage doors from the M1 system.

- I have the garage doors on a 2 minute entry timer to give me plenty of time to get inside after I get home.
- When any garage door is open I have the F5 botton on my keypad set to blink. I can press the F5 key to automatically close any door that is open. I can also remotely close the doors by running a task I have set up in the M1 rules. I have this function set to only close the doors and not open them.
- If I leave the garage door open for more than 3 minutes after I arm the system I get an SMS text message on my phone telling me I left the garage open.
- If the garage door is opened when I arm the system at night I announce a message over the speaker and also send a message to the keypad telling me the door is still open
- If the garage door is open at 8:00pm in the evening I announce a message that I left the garage door open.

 

[ctay]

I have 2 relays on the M1, with the wires running to each door opener, and this allows me to control the garage doors from the M1 system.

I don't have my M1 yet but I am planning my prewire. What wires do I need to run to the opener switches to accomplish this?

 

[Madcodger]

Check out this thread from the "How To" section:

http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?showtopic=2215

This allows you to use a garage door remote to open or close the door. I have it wired to an output on my Elk, but anything that can close a relay could do it. Our is set up to close the garage door after it has been open for 5 minutes, and as a backup, it also checks at a certain time each night to see if the door is closed. If not, it closes it.

Status is monitored using a garage door contact switch (bigger than standard magnet switches, allowing a wider gap - available online) and a DS10A sending a signal to Homeseer.

If you use the remote opener noted above and something like Homeseer, you can also open the door from anywhere with a web connection, or even using a phone. I've let people into the house with it, making it very handy yet secure (no X10 involved).

 

[huggy59]

I used to have two garage doors hooked up to Homeseer via X10 when I lived in FL. I used three magnetic sensors - one for the door open/close status, one as a lockout so X10 could be used to close the door, but not open it, and the third for the alarm system. The X10 tied into the existing manual buttons used internally to open/close the doors, but could only be used to close the door, not open it. THis was done using an electrical lockout that could not be overridden with the PC or control system.

Logic within Homeseer included:

If the door is open, announce it house-wide every 3 minutes.

If the door is open for longer than x minutes, close it after issuing a warning alarm (voice announcement and beeps in the garage).

If the garage door remains open after three attempts to close it automatically, message me in various formats (email, SMS, etc.). This covers the possibility of the door not closing completely due to an obstacle or other problem.

I had an override command to allow me to work in the garage for discrete periods of time without the announcements every 3 minutes (very positive WAF). After that period, the override would be shut off automatically and the standard program mode logic would resume, checking the door status and attempting to close it following an announcement as above.

I had separate alarm sensors on the doors as a backup, and when the alarm was on the logic was set in a different mode to msg me immediately if the alarm was not properly disarmed within so many minutes of the doors being opened. As my alarm was specifically NOT available via the Internet or other remote capabilites for security purposes, the doors and closing mechanism were pretty secure.

 

[noshali]

Hi,

I use an ELk to do this and love the functionality that I get with elk not only to close the garage door if I forget a tnight but other rules that notify us if it is open etc etc....

If you would be interested going th elk route than I am here to guide you through that.

regards

 

[thewireguy]

I have 2 relays on the M1, with the wires running to each door opener, and this allows me to control the garage doors from the M1 system.

I don't have my M1 yet but I am planning my prewire. What wires do I need to run to the opener switches to accomplish this?

A 22/2 to each motor for the relay and a 22/2 to the doors for contacts.

 

[mtwalsh367]

If you have multiple garage doors remember to run seperate sets of contact wires for each door. You need to be able to monitor the doors indivudually so you know which one is open and therefore which one to close.

Have fun, The sky is the limit as far as what you can dream up to do.

Matt