LED lights are an amazing invention. They produce light at 90 percent more efficiently than incandescent bulbs. While they do cost more than traditional bulbs, they last significantly longer. They save both your budget and the earth. But the catch is they can play tricks with your garage door. If you’ve had issues with your garage door opening and closing on a whim, LED lights may be the root cause.
How an LED Light Works
It appears that an LED light emits a continuous stream of light, but actually it flashes 15 times or more per second. The flash at a frequency that falls somewhere between 30 and 300 MHz. But your garage door opener operates on a frequency that falls somewhere between 288 and 360 MHz. This can cause a problem because the digital signals can interfere with each other.
CFL Lights Can Be a Problem Too
Not only can LED lights interfere with your garage door opener signals, but so can compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs. These types of lights reduce the operating range of your garage door transmitter, which can mess up performance. If you’re having problems with your garage door opener, try swapping out the CFL lights. It’s an easy and fairly inexpensive repair.
How to Fix Light Problems
The first step is to identify the problem. Which light bulbs are interfering with your opener and why?
Your best solution is to invest in better bulbs. Cheaper bulbs are notorious for causing these kinds of problems. Choose a name brand bulb that may cost more at the outset, but will last longer and be more efficient in the long run. You might also try updating your existing light bulb fixtures. Older models may be causing the problem.