Ever drive away from home and suddenly wonder, Did I close the garage door? This was me. After too many times finding the garage door left wide open for hours, I decided it was time to make my garage a little smarter. But instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a fancy new system, I found a way to add simple smart features while sticking to a budget. In this post, I’ll walk you through how I used inexpensive sensors, a smart light switch, and a few easy automations to keep my garage safer, brighter, and a lot more secure. If you’re looking for a practical way to upgrade your garage without spending a fortune, you’re in the right place.
Picking Low-Cost Smart Devices
When I started looking for ways to make my garage door smarter, I wanted to keep the price low. There are tons of smart garage door openers out there with all of the bells and whistles, but I didn’t have the budget (or the desire) for one of these.
So to make my garage door smarter, I started with a door sensor that could detect if my garage door was open or closed. For a door sensor, there are a lot of cheap options online. I picked a couple of Aqara Zigbee door sensors that could hook into my existing smart home hub. These sensors are on our list of smart home devices we buy over and over again, and for good reason. These sensors usually stick to the door frame with double-sided tape, so are super easy to install. I already had a Zigbee network, so didn’t need a new hub to connect it to. I also grabbed an Aqara Zigbee light switch to turn on the main garage light.
Adding the Hardware to Make My Garage Door Smarter
Once I had my hardware, it was time to start installing it. I installed the sensor a little bit differently from your normal door mount. Normally, the sensor and magnet that it uses to detect if the door is open are placed pretty close together. But a garage door lifts open, not swings. So if I put the sensor and magnet too close together, there was a chance that they would get caught on each other and be ripped off the door. So, after hooking my sensor into my smart home hub, I placed the magnet on the side of the garage door and placed the sensor itself on the wall next to the garage door and alongside the magnet. I left a gap as big as I could while still having the sensor detect the door was closed reliably. This ended up being about a 1/2″ gap.
Once my garage door sensor was in place, I could easily see if my garage door was open or closed just by visiting my smart home app on my phone. I also installed a sensor on the door from the garage to the house, as well as a light switch to control the main garage light. These were normal installs, so I’m not going to go into details here.
Setting Up the Smart Garage Features
Once I installed my hardware, it was time to make my garage door smarter. To get notifications, you could use built-in features from the Aqara smart hub if you’re using it, or whatever other smart home hub you happen to be using ( Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, etc). I happen to have Home Assistant here as my primary smart home hub, so that’s what I used. I prefer Home Assistant since it lets me easily hook into most any device and setup much more complex automations than other smart home hubs.
I ended up creating a couple of automations for my garage door. The first automation is really simple. If the garage door is left open for more than five minutes, I get a text on my phone and there’s an announcement that plays throughout the house saying that the garage door was left open. That’s it. That simple automation alone solved my “is the garage door open?” problem. Most smart home hubs should be able to handle this automation, or something similar.
The next automation is a little more complex and may not be doable on your smart home hub. Depending on the position of the sun, if a garage door is opened (either the main garage door or the door to the house), the main garage light is turned on. After ten minutes, if the door is closed the light is switched back off. I’ll be honest, I love this automation more than I expected. It means that when I have to go into the garage at night to fetch something, the light just magically turns on for me. No trying to remember exactly where the light switch is in the dark.
Everyday Benefits and Results
After setting up the new system for my garage door, I started to notice that I was leaving the door open less often. Before, I would sometimes forget if I had closed it which would lead to extra trips out to the garage or worse, the garage door left open. With the new setup, I can check the garage door on my phone as well as get announcements or notifications if I forgot to close the garage door.
Choosing simple and low-cost parts helped keep the project from getting too pricey. I did not need to buy anything fancy. Adding a smart plug and a basic sensor was enough. Since I did not have to pay for extra services or special equipment, I was able to keep my spending down while solving my main problem – knowing if the garage door was left open. The entire upgrade, including sensors and a smart switch, cost under $100 — far cheaper than a full smart garage system.
Getting alerts any time the door is left open has helped me feel more sure about the safety of my home. If the door stays open for longer than I want, I get a message. This takes away a lot of the worry, especially when I am not at home. Even if I am out running errands or at work, I know right away if the garage door was left open, usually before I leave the neighborhood. This simple change has made things feel a bit easier day to day.
In Summary
A smarter garage doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Even one small upgrade, like adding a door sensor, can bring major peace of mind. If you’re tired of wondering whether you left the garage open, starting with simple sensors and a smart switch is a budget-friendly way to take control.
