The garage door acts as one of the entry points for your home. And thanks to the technological revolution, you can also invest in an automatic garage door opener and connect it to your smart home. This will provide a sense of security, convenience, and peace of mind to yourself and your household members. With an automatic garage door, you can use a remote garage door opener app and control your garage even when you are far away from home.
However, investing in a garage door opener also involves the mechanisms and other essential features that can make it either easier or harder for you to use it on a daily basis. In this article, we will explore five factors you should consider when choosing the right garage door opener to make your investment worthwhile.
1. Drive Options
Garage door openers feature a trolley or carriage along the rail to push or pull it for opening or closing the door. One of the major differences you may notice in different versions of garage doors on the market is the garage door opener drives.
Chain – Chain-drive garage door openers utilize a metal chain to open or close the garage gate. It’s sturdy and affordable but can be really noisy, especially if you have a garage attached to your home.
Screw – Screw openers use threaded steel rods to control the movements of the garage gate. Since screw-drive openers have few moving parts than chain-drive door openers, they are relatively quieter and need less maintenance but can be pricier.
Belt – Belt-drive openers are the most expensive. As it uses a belt to push or pull the garage gate, it is very quiet in operation and smoother than chain- and screw-drive openers.
2. Horsepower Options
The horsepower of the garage door opener motor greatly depends on the weight and size of the garage gate. In order to ensure exceptional performance and functionality, you need to match the opener motor horsepower with the weight of the gate.
The weight of a garage door depends on the material it’s made from and whether it’s a single-car door or a double-car door. Also, too much horsepower isn’t required, as it can be energy inefficient.
The most common horsepower options for residential doors include 1/3, 1/2, and 3/4 horsepower.
3. AC vs. DC Motors
Current is also an essential factor to consider, along with the horsepower of a motor. Although belt drives use DC motors more commonly than other drive types, it is becoming more popular among other drive types for manufacturers owing to its advantages.
Although AC motors are durable and less expensive, DC motors ensure that the operation is as smooth as possible to prevent any noise and even provide battery backup options to ensure functionality even during a power outage.
4. Size
The standard height of garage doors is 7 feet, so you can expect the openers available on the market to fit 7-foot garage gates.
Therefore, when making a purchase, you need to make sure that your door size is standard. If not, you need to keep in mind that altering the size may come with extra charges.
5. Brand and Price
You must be sure of your budget before you start looking for the right garage door opener in the market and stick to it.
You may also prefer a certain well-known brand that you have had a great experience with in the past, which is a relief. You should stick to the well-known brands in the market as they will ensure reliability, durability, and quality to make your investment worth it down the road.
