EV in the Garage? Chargers, Cords and Your Garage Door

If you charge an EV in your garage, the same questions tend to come up: can the door close on the cord, where does the charger go, and can the car open the door by itself? Here's what to know.

Why you shouldn't close the door on the cable

People try this when the charger is outside, or when the car is parked half in the driveway. It causes three problems.

The door probably won't stay closed. Automatic openers are required to reverse when they hit an obstruction. The door industry association DASMA tests this with a 2x4 laid flat, about 1.5 inches tall. Depending on the cable and the opener's settings, the door may reverse, stop short of the floor, or come down on top of the cable. In the first two cases, the door isn't closed.

It damages the cable and the door. A door that does come down on a cable presses on it every time. Over time that can crush the cable's jacket. It also tears or flattens the rubber bottom seal, which then lets in water, cold air and leaves.

The garage isn't secure. A door propped open a couple of inches by a cable can be lifted by hand, and anything in the garage is on display.

Keep cords and chargers away from the photo-eyes

Your opener's photo-eyes sit low on each side of the door. DASMA's safety guide says they should be no higher than 6 inches off the floor. That's right where charging cables tend to lie.

A cable draped across the beam will keep the door from closing, and on many models the opener lights flash. A charging stand, bin or cable hook bumped into a sensor can knock it out of line. Keep the doorway and the area around both sensors clear. If your sensor lights are blinking, see what the sensor lights mean.

Where to put the charger

Talk to a qualified electrician about the circuit and exact spot. From the garage door side of things, these are the rules of thumb we'd suggest:

• Pick a side wall that matches your charge port. The cable should reach the car without running across the doorway.
• Stay clear of the door tracks and springs. Don't mount anything to the tracks, the track brackets or the header above the door. Those parts carry the door's weight and move with it.
• Don't hang cables from the opener rail or the ceiling hardware. The trolley travels along the rail and can snag them.
• Leave room to walk. A charger where you have to squeeze past a bumper will get hit eventually.
• Plan for the cable holster. A wall hook keeps the cable off the floor, out of the door's path and away from the photo-eyes.

If the only practical spot is outside, ask your electrician about an outdoor-rated charger so the cable never needs to pass under the garage door.

If you use auto-close features

Timer-to-close, geofencing and app-based closing are convenient with an EV, because you can pull in, plug in and walk away. They also mean the door may close when nobody is watching.

On LiftMaster and Chamberlain openers with timer-to-close, Chamberlain says the opener beeps and flashes its lights before the door closes. That warning doesn't help if a cable is lying in the doorway. Make it a habit to plug in only after the car is fully inside and the door path is clear. Run the reverse test monthly too, as we describe in our fall checklist.

Using your car to open the garage

Many cars can open the garage door themselves, which is one less remote to clip to the visor.

• HomeLink: buttons built into many cars that learn your opener's signal. Tesla's support pages say HomeLink can control up to three radio-frequency devices, such as garage doors and gates, and Tesla offers it as a retrofit for Model 3 and Model Y, installed by Tesla service.
• myQ in the car: Chamberlain lists Tesla, Honda and Acura, Nissan and INFINITI, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Mitsubishi among its supported vehicle partners for LiftMaster and Chamberlain openers.

If your car won't learn your opener, the opener may be too old or use a radio system the car doesn't support. That's one situation where upgrading the opener makes sense. See opener installation.

Want more ceiling space? Consider a wall-mount opener

Garages with EVs often get more crowded: charger on one wall, bikes on another, storage racks overhead. A wall-mount opener sits on the wall beside the door instead of hanging from a rail in the middle of the ceiling. That frees up overhead space and removes the rail and trolley from above the car. They're generally made for doors with torsion springs, so ask whether your door is a good fit.

For pricing on new openers, see our opener installation cost guide. If a closed-on cable has already torn your bottom seal or bent the bottom of the door, a tune-up visit can replace the seal and check everything else.