Picking the best garage door opener for your needs is not as simple as it looks. The market is filled with a vast variety of openers which can overwhelm even the most experienced garage door owner. Thankfully, today’s openers are more powerful and secure, than yesterday’s models. Here is some information that we believe will make your garage door opener shopping experience less stressful.

Style and Function

Chain: The oldest, and most cost-effective technology, chain drive garage door openers feature a bike-style chain which is slightly slacked when the door is open – by at least a 1/2 an inch above the T-rail. The downside to these openers are that their chain makes quite the racket as it is attached to a metal trolley.

Belt: Among the quietest (and costliest) drive options, belt drives feature a Kevlar polymer body, which is molded into nubby teeth on one side. These rotate through a gear on the operator’s top to pull the trolley. The quietness of these openers make them an extremely worthwhile investment.

Screw: Screw drive garage door openers are the Goldilocks of openers – they’re quieter than chain drives but nosier than belt drives. These openers require far less maintenance than the other options. However, as with other options, its threads require biannual lubrication. They are priced lower than belt drives but higher than chain drives.

Consider the Garage Door Opener Horsepower

1/2-HP Models are suitable for standard doors weighing less than 350 pounds.

3/4-HP Models are suitable for wood doors weighing more than 350 pounds.

1-HP Models are suitable for industrial or oversized doors weighing 500 to 1,000 pounds.

DC Battery Backups: In addition to an opener’s horsepower, you may want to consider investing in a model with a DC battery backup – especially if you reside in an area prone to power outages. DC battery backups allow you to continue operating your garage door even without power. This feature is only available on select models.

Security Features

Rolling Code Technology: Today’s garage door openers feature rolling-code technology, which creates and sends a new code to the receiver (i.e. remote, keypad, or key-fob) each time the door is opened, compared to past openers’ which only used one code. This makes it impossible for suburban burglars to gain access to your garage.

Manual emergency release allows you to manually open the garage door by pulling a cord (usually red in color) that detaches the opener from the door. This comes in handy in the event of a power outage or is something/someone accidentally gets stuck underneath the door as well as for performing routine maintenance to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Smart Garage Door Openers: Smart garage door openers are superbly user friendly, smart home garage door openers afford you the opportunity to constantly monitor atmospheric conditions, as well as protects against accidental closures. All you need is access to the internet, and a free app on your iOS or Android phone to get much needed peace of mind, no matter where you may be.