Looking for a suitable garage door opener but confused about where to start from? With such a wide range of garage door openers in the market, finding the right one can often be a task.
To help you get through the dilemma, here’s a brief guide driving you through all the crucial aspects aligning with your purchase. Hence whether you’re to replace your old garage door opener or are to start with an all-new piece, make sure to pay heed to the following considerations.
Decide on the drive style
Standard garage door openers come with a similar design. However, the main difference lies in the type of drive. Certain drives tend to be noisier than the other. Thus, drive style becomes a significant factor to consider concerning the location of your garage.
The three main drive style include:
- Chain- Chain drive garage door openers come up as the most affordable system in the industry. Featuring a solid, rugged structure, they offer smooth operations and require minimal maintenance. However, chain drives create more noise and vibrations comparing others. If your garage is close to a living space, you must head on to the other options. But if noise is not your primary concern, then a chain drive garage door opener is a great choice.
- Belt- Belt drive garage door openers operate using a steel reinforced belt. Providing easy and quiet operations, they are the best option for the garages attached to a living area. Plus, they only require periodic lower maintenance needs for proper service.
- Screw- Designed with a threaded steel rod, screw drive garage door openers offer powerful and quick operations. They work best for heavier applications plus render quick and disturbance-free mechanisms.
Check out for the horsepower
Look and compare garage door openers based on horsepower ratings determining the lifting capacity of the different models. While at it, make sure to consider the size of your garage door plus how frequently you’ll be using it? Openers with 1 /2 horsepower work well for standard single aluminum doors. However, if you use the door as an entry point of your house and open it more often, or you have a wide and heavier garage door, then you’ll probably need an opener with a 3 /4 horsepower rating.
Working with garage door openers with suitable weight power will ensure the proper functioning of your system. This will also cease you from overhead expenses of regular maintenance. For this, mark to enlist your requirements before making a purchase. This will lead you to get your hands over the right model serving all your needs.
Look for your desired features
Once you decide on a garage door opener based on the door type and location of your garage, get along with all the available features of your preferred model. Standard garage door openers share some common features such as:
- Security light activation during the operating period.
- Wall-mounted buttons and remotes for opening the garage.
- A manual release allows you to monitor and disengage the opener from inside the garage.
- Rail segments typically designed for large-sized garage doors.
Concerning today’s modern families and their requirements, most garage door openers prioritize convenience and space as crucial facets.
Safety and security
Modern garage door openers are well-equipped with additional safety features ensuring the safety and security of your garage. The latest openers are designed to generate electronic beams piercing through the garage door opening to minimize the practices of entrapment. Whenever any person, animal, or object tends to obstruct the glare, the safety mechanisms get activated — reversing the closing door in a direction.
These special safety features ensure the security of your place even when you are way away from your home. Also, the latest garage door openers give you the ultimate control over every notch. Plus, you can even schedule a fixed time of the day to close your garage door automatically. Hence, if you’re still working with an old modeled garage door opener, it’s high time to upgrade your device. This will help you leverage all the basic features for better assistance.
Don’t miss out on the add ons
Besides the garage door opener, you’ll need to buy a few additional items for the proper installation of your system. These might include some extra angle iron of adequate size to secure the unit to the ceiling properly. And light bulbs to fill in some light once the system is installed.
