Troubled by Excess Moisture and Mouldy Walls in Your Garage? Hörmann Offers Solutions

Excess moisture can appear especially in the winter months, but damp walls or misted windows often appear during the warmer seasons of the year too. If you use a Hörmann sectional garage door, the German manufacturer offers several ways to get rid of unwanted moisture in your garage. In principle, the solutions on offer can be divided into two categories: passive or active ventilation.

A ventilated garage with the door closed? No problem with Hörmann!

The first option is so-called passive ventilation, where natural airflow with the garage door closed is used to reduce moisture. In this case no garage door operator is needed. Hörmann offers the so-called floor seal with ventilation slots, which replaces the standard floor seal. This specially designed perforated bottom rubber allows air to flow through with the garage door closed. At first glance no openings are visible on the door. No modification of the door itself is needed.

For this to work, there must also be one ventilation opening in the garage, which may be a small window, commonly found in row garages on the rear wall or directly above the garage entrance. If your garage does not have this option, Hörmann again has a solution. You can use the so-called ventilation grilles, which can be fitted even to an existing garage door. These additional openings allow air to flow and so eliminate moisture in the garage. For this, precise openings must be cut directly into the section of your sectional door (we recommend having this work carried out by an authorised installer). The grilles can be opened or closed using the sliding shutter.

Automatic ventilation only when suitable? A smart solution!

The second ventilation option is somewhat more sophisticated and requires a door fitted with an operator. This is so-called active ventilation, where the operator itself, with the help of a climate sensor, opens your garage door slightly. The internal HKSI sensor is primarily used, which measures humidity and temperature indoors and, if the value is high, sends an impulse to the garage door operator. This ventilation of the garage is carried out by means of the operator's "second opening height" function. The adjustable temperature range in which the door must not open is especially convenient. Particularly in frost, this additional function is indispensable. In addition, you can set the operating times of the internal sensor so that ventilation runs for a maximum of 2 hours.

This system can be extended with a second, external HKSA sensor. In this case the internal HKSI humidity sensor evaluates the humidity and temperature inside the garage and the external HKSA sensor measures the same values outdoors. If the humidity difference favours the outdoor conditions, the operator automatically opens the garage door slightly. Once the humidity levels have equalised, the door closes automatically. Ventilation can also be optimised with a fan supplied by the customer. The connected fan can be switched on or off in conjunction with the optional HOR 1 relay. With the fan switched on, ventilation takes place as soon as the door reaches the partial-opening position. The fan is then switched off when the door closes.

If you cannot afford to leave the garage door slightly open, for example for security reasons, or you are worried about rodents or other pests, there is a solution here too. Hörmann has developed a special tilting roller holder set. These rollers are installed on the top section of the sectional garage door and tilt open only the top section. The garage door stays firmly closed on the floor. Once conditions indoors have improved, the top section closes.

Ask your Hörmann dealer about installation options and compatibility

A friendly piece of advice to finish. We recommend leaving all technical modifications to and work on the garage door to authorised installers in your region. In this article we only wanted to make you aware of the options the German manufacturer Hörmann offers for ventilating a garage.