Check Your Garage Door

Check Your Garage Door

Garage door automation experts Merlin are urging homeowners to get a professional Merlin dealer to complete a safety check, ahead of upcoming safety compliance changes.

'The garage door is the largest moving object in a home, making it essential that homeowners check that safe and reliable openers have been installed and that they are compliant with Australian and New Zealand standards," explains Marketing Director, Grant Emanuel.

From March 1^st 2016 onwards, a new Regulatory Compliance Mark will be introduced that now includes electrical safety as well as EMC compliance.

'Naturally, many people assume all garage door openers bought and installed in Australia are compliant with Australian and New Zealand standards, however, this is not always the case," says Emanuel.

'Consumers need to be wary of non-compliant imports, as they may not meet the required safety standards," adds Emanuel.

Merlin has recently launched an awareness campaign to highlight the importance of garage safety and the role openers play in this.

'When it comes to safety, we believe prevention is best. Our simple advice to homeowners is, if you want peace of mind that your garage door opener is safe and compliant – make sure it's a Merlin," adds Emanuel.

Merlin is committed to safety and to help homeowners ensure their garage door is safe and compliant they have recently launched a promotion to help drive consumer awareness on the issue.

'We are offering consumers a chance to WIN 1 of 20 $500 VISA pre-paid cards when they have a Merlin professionally installed and complete the online warranty by 31^st January 2016," Emanuel adds.

As a non-declared electrical item, garage door openers do not require a certificate of approval prior to sale, but must comply with the relevant Australian Standards. For homeowners unsure of how to differentiate between compliant and non-compliant garage doors openers, there are a number of features they should expect to see in a compliant opener including: 

Product meets the safety reversal check – i.e. if the door comes into contact with an obstruction it should automatically reverse back up within 0.75 of a second and less than 40kgs of force

Label that states manufacturer name and details

C-tick mark which will be replaced by the Regulatory Compliance Mark on March 1 2016

Availability of a Certificate of Suitability for each product if requested

'The industry has taken a number of positive steps in recent months to increase consumer protection in this area. At Merlin we have always been on the front foot on this issue by making -Certificates of Suitability' available for each product to identify compliance.

'From 1^st March 2016 we will also carry the new Regulatory Compliance Mark on all products," concludes Emanuel.

As the first garage door automation company in Australia to embark on a consumer compliance and safety campaign, Merlin feel it is important to drive awareness on this issue. For more information, contact Merlin on 1800 MERLIN or visit GOMERLIN.COM.AU