A common challenge for the elderly and disabled persons is being able to open doors in the home and at their place of work. A solution that has been developed in the past decade to help make this task easier has been the further development of handicap door openers. No longer are these devices solely designed to open garage doors, with current models being able to be fitted to almost any type and size of door. Additionally, as the supporting technologies have matured, the price to purchase and install individual door openers has significantly dropped supporting wider-spread deployment of the devices.
How Does a Handicap Door Opener Work?
There are two primary types of handicap door openers that are commonly purchased for the home : 1 – Those which open by push button, and 2 – Those that open based on motion sensors being activated. When combined with the purchase of an electric wheelchair, accessibility impaired friends or family members are now able to access their entire home and/or yard which would not be the case in the past.
What is an Alternative to an Automatic Handicap Door Opener?
Since a family may not be able to afford installing automatic door openers throughout the home, a complementing device that has gained popularity over the past decade are handicap home door knob openers. These door openers are on the door knob and can be pushed down to open the door. Patients who suffer from Parkinson’s disease who cannot open a traditional door knob, can use these opener’s to gain access to locations in the home that have previously been restrictive to them.
Are Automatic Door Openers Safe?
There are two concerns that consumers have when looking at installing automatic door openers. First, what happens if there is an electric storm that knocks out power at the home? Will you be locked out or locked inside? Next, is can a criminal gain access to the home through using the door opening system? Regarding the safety aspect, the majority of door openers come with built-in battery backups that allow the door to be accessed in the event of emergency. This feature is not included with all handicap door openers, however, so you will want to check to make sure it is included with any new purchase that you make. Regarding security, many automatic door opening systems now come with a key-less entry pad that let you unlock the door using a four digit or greater key code.
Making your home more accessible for loved ones (or even yourself) is no longer a full, house-remodeling effort. There are a number of experienced contracting agencies that now have experience installing automatic doors in new or pre-existing buildings with most existing doors being able to have the devices added to them if a new door is not the right choice for you.
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