LEDs and garage door openers

[gfmucci]

A few months ago my garage door started working erratically. I called the pro and he demonstrated that the LEDs in the garage door opener were the culprit. RF from LEDs interfere with wireless transmissions - even with the wired button apparently, which makes little sense to me.

So I dutifully spent $20 for a pair of [Chinese] LED bulbs designed for garage door openers (they emit lower RF) from Amazon because they were a few $$ cheaper than Lowes.

They worked well for a few months until a few days ago. The garage door operation was again becoming erratic when today it became impossible. So I removed the two LEDs and replaced them with nothing.

The door now works reliably again.

My best guess is the specialty LED bulbs I installed generate more and more RF as they age. And being from China, well...

Of course I don't know that the LEDs from Lowes would do any better. They could be made in the same Chinese factory my duds were from for all I know.

So what say the electrical and garage door experts out there. Does any of this make sense?

 

[AA/FC]

Are you talking about the LED light bulb(s) that are screwed into the garage door opener itself? Or LED light bulbs mounted in ceiling light fixtures NEAR the garage door opener? I've never heard of this problem and I have LED bulbs installed in my garage door opener itself.

What exactly does the door do when it's acting erratically? I've never seen my door do anything other than what it should be doing.

 

[gfmucci]

LEDs in the opener. Red light on wired button blinks rapidly. Lights at motor blink on/off, garage door stops half way up or down. All sorts of random, non- functioning useless and aggravating behavior.

I've never had this sort of problem before, either. I've had 6 houses over past 40 years with garage door openers. Of course only the last couple had LED bulbs in them. Maybe newer units have better RF isolation.

 

[cybrdyke]

This is a very common occurance. There is some RFI created by the driver in the LED bulb that interferes with the receiver on the opener.
Not all LED bulbs have the same effect. You can even try two bulbs that are the same and one will do it and the other wont.
Solutions: Change the bulb to an incandescent or CFL. Or...one of the door opener manufacturers sell an LED lamp that they claim wont have this issue. Sorry, I dont remember which manufacturer it is.
Good luck,
CD

 

[scooterbum46]

Wrap the bulb in tin foil

 

[gfmucci]

This is a very common occurance. There is some RFI created by the driver in the LED bulb that interferes with the receiver on the opener.
Not all LED bulbs have the same effect. You can even try two bulbs that are the same and one will do it and the other wont.
Solutions: Change the bulb to an incandescent or CFL. Or...one of the door opener manufacturers sell an LED lamp that they claim wont have this issue. Sorry, I dont remember which manufacturer it is.
Good luck,
CD

Is CFL the best bet? No RF. Less heat?

 

[cybrdyke]

Is CFL the best bet? No RF. Less heat?

Not neccessarily. A CFL has an electronic ballast in it that can create the same RFI.
CD

 

[wssix99]

Many of us have wired our openers up to our house lights with an electrical contactor and bypass the opener bulb completely.

I've also been in rentals before where I installed a screw-in electrical outlet and plugged in a separate fixture away from the opener. This allowed me to avoid interference and also put in a brighter bulb/fixture.

 

[gfmucci]

I'll probably settle for a couple old fashioned 60 watt incandescents. Some light is better than no light or interfering RF.

 

[billconner]

I'll probably settle for a couple old fashioned 60 watt incandescents. Some light is better than no light or interfering RF.

This. Simple and effective. I think compact fluorescent is also an option.

 

[gfmucci]

Biden administration’s lightbulb ban

As part of its energy efficiency and climate agenda, the Biden administration is looking to implement a nationwide ban on commonly used light bulbs.

www.oann.com

This should be interesting. No more incandesents after August? I better "settle" quickly.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I ran coax to an antenna above the garage door. It seemed to stop the weirdness.

 

[billconner]

This should be interesting. No more incandesents after August?

I've got a very large plastic bin full of mostly incandescents and I'm 71, so probably good.

 

[cybrdyke]

This should be interesting. No more incandesents after August?

That's not so bad since they were almost all banned once already. They were about 75% gone, but then the rule got rolled back. Back then, it was more of an issue because LED bulbs cost $5-6 bucks, but now you can find them for under a buck. So, it's not the big deal that it was a few years ago.
What's even a bigger deal is that Vermont and California have both banned CFL's and fluorescent lamps, starting in 2024, including 4' lamps. Think of how many commercial and office buildings have 4' fluorescent lamps. And California included 8' lamps in their law. Many states will follow shortly after.
CD

 

[gfmucci]

I ran coax to an antenna above the garage door. It seemed to stop the weirdness.

That's weird.

 

[Metal-Marc]

Bought two of these last summer. No issue.

 

[SteveL]

I have a relatively new Overhead Door Legacy 920 opener that works fine with one car but not the other. Have reprogrammed several times, changed bulbs in the opener itself and nothing seems to help. Oh, and the car that has troubles with the new opener works fine with the old Genie in the third car bay. What’s weird is that I had the same problem with my old car which was the same make and model as the new one but 3 years older.

 

[dogdog]

Biden administration’s lightbulb ban

As part of its energy efficiency and climate agenda, the Biden administration is looking to implement a nationwide ban on commonly used light bulbs.

www.oann.com

This should be interesting. No more incandesents after August? I better "settle" quickly.

OAN is bad for you though...

Bought two of these last summer. No issue.

LMFAO, It's COO China, that would have been bad for the OP, even if it worked.

 

[sz0k30]

My Liftmaster specifically said NOT to use LED's.

 

[billconner]

I assume it's the triac "switch" and low power draw that causes a lot of the problem.

 

[66HertzClone]

I went through this when I was married, and ended up putting the incandescenct bulbs back in the openers. After I divorced and moved, I purchased these LED bulbs from Amazon and have had no issues with them. in the more than 3 years I have had them.

 

[exranger06]

I bought a Genie brand LED bulb that's specifically for garage door openers. That was several years ago and I've never had a problem with it. I never tried any other LED, I just switched from incandescent to the Genie bulb.