Outdoor entertaining is trending. Weatherproof TVs, speakers, and colored LED lighting are leading the charge by turning ordinary patios into places where the party never stops. There’s one more item you might want to add to your list of entertainment must-haves: a motorized sliding glass door.
“No pun intended but the outdoor entertainment trend has really opened doors for us,” says Doors-In-Motion international sales manager James Wailani. The company offers motors that can be added (requires professional installation) to almost any brand of bottom rolling door. Fitted within the pocket of the door frame, the motor goes unnoticed, but its impact on the home will certainly make an impression. At the touch of a button on a keypad, smartphone, touchscreen or other device, the door quietly slide open, creating an expansive entertainment space where the exterior and interior spaces connect.
Included with the motor, which is strong enough move just about any size door, are a wall switch to control the movement of the door and a motion detector, the latter of which is intended to be used as a safety feature. If a person (or pet) crosses into its line of sight while the doors are closing it will stop and reverse. For even greater control, the motor can be integrated with home automation systems from Crestron, Lutron, and AMX. For example, the doors can be included in a Party mode where tapping a button on an iPad app opens the door, sets the lights, and activates the music. Or, the doors can be automated to open and close at certain times of the day.
“They can be programmed through these systems to operate in any number of ways,” Wailani says. And it’s not just exterior doors that the Doors-In-Motion motors can move. “We are seeing them being used to move partitions between rooms of the house and to move bookcases to reveal TV screens.”
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