The garage door is one of the main parts of your home and nowadays it’s no longer installed for convenience but also because of necessity, comfort, peace of mind, and safety. It also improves your home’s aesthetic appeal, considering it’s the forefront of your home. But to get optimal value for your garage door, it’s best to have a garage door opener that allows you to access your home easily. They also save you the stress of needing to open the bulky garage door manually, which is the last thing you want after a hectic day.
However, there are numerous garage door openers on the market, which makes selecting one can be quite challenging. To ease this problem, you can search online or learn from OGD’s guide on the factors you should consider when searching for a garage door opener.
1. The Garage Door Opener Drive Style
Because garage door openers come in different drive types, this should be the first thing you need to inquire more about when you’re out shopping. The drive type is the mechanism that makes the door open and close. Accordingly, these different styles have their distinct attributes. The different drive types for garage door openers include the following:
- Chain Drive: It’s the most common drive type and is most often a perfect match for garage door openings with varying heights and widths. This system features chain-driven openers with metal chains to lift up the garage doors. It’s an excellent choice if you’re on a budget, although it creates a lot of noise and vibrations. That’s why, it might not be a great choice if your garage is close to your living space or bedroom.
- Screw Drive: This drive system features long, threaded steel rods that lift the garage door. It has very few moving parts, making it cheaper to maintain as well as faster and quieter to open. The screw drive system is best suited for lifting heavy double doors and comes with plastic-lined tracks to minimize the noise produced. You should also consider it if you have a wide and heavy garage door because of its sturdy built quality, making it less prone to breakage. With that said, the screw heads must be lubricated and maintained periodically.
- Belt Drive: It features a belt made either from rubber or related material to operate the garage door and drive the trolley. It’s considered the most noiseless garage door opener drive system, making it great if your garage door is located close to your bedroom or living space. However, it’s quite expensive due to its free-disturbance feature.
2. Size And Weight Of Your Garage Door
Another consideration to have in mind before buying a garage door opener is the weight and size of your garage door. It’s vital to do this because you want to buy a garage door opener with enough power to lift your door. For instance, if your garage door is large and bulky, the chain drive system would be a more appropriate fit over the screw drive. An extension kit can also come in handy if your garage door is taller than normal to ensure smooth functioning.
You shouldn’t make the mistake of buying a garage door opener of lesser capacity because it’s cheaper. This is because while such a drive system will perform effectively, it’ll burn out a lot faster. As a result, you’ll end up buying a new garage door opener a lot sooner, meaning your cost-saving efforts are all in vain.
3. Smart Features
Your garage door opener also needs to incorporate smart features to make it more practical and further enhance your security in today’s digital world. Some of the features to consider include;
- Wi-Fi connectivity enables you to link your smartphone and garage door opener, meaning you can remotely open and close your garage door as long as you have cell phone data or access to Wi-Fi. It can also notify you if you accidentally left the garage door open.
- Rolling Code Security Technology helps boost the security of your garage door opener by randomly generating a new code each time you use the remote.
- Auto-close functionality
- Motion-sensing security lights
- Remote automation system
- Vehicle compatibility
- Battery back-up
Thanks to these smart features, you’ll enjoy greater control over all the movements through your garage door. You also can easily monitor every activity in or out of your home from any location.
4. Safety
Injuries caused by garage doors are quite common. And because you want to guarantee your safety and that of your loved ones, you need to get a garage door opener with safety features such as infrared beams, rolling codes, and automatic reverse action sensors. You can easily test whether these safety features are working by swaying an item ahead of the sensors as the garage door closes to see if they’re working.
5. Check The Horsepower Ratings
The average horsepower rating for residential garage door openers ranges between 1/2 to 1 1/2. Determining the ideal horsepower rating depends on the size, material, and the number of garage door (s) that need to be opened. For a heavy and dense garage door, the best garage door opener should have a higher horsepower rating. But for a sectional double-car garage door common in many homes, the 1/2 horsepower rating is more than enough.
6. Noise
The different garage door openers produce different noise levels. Therefore, you need to assess your sensitivity to the noise either while asleep or relaxing in your living room to determine an ideal garage door opener to install. During the garage door installation process, it’s also essential to ensure the opener is properly aligned and secured to avoid unnecessary noise or operational issues. The screw drive or belt drive are great picks if you want minimal noise. But if you don’t mind any noise, the chain drive system can also be an option.
Takeaway
Knowing which garage door opener is the most ideal to buy is often confusing due to the many options available. Because of this, it’s stressful for you as a homeowner to know the right garage door opener that matches your needs. But if you are in a budget and replacement is not an option, you can check Family Christian Doors and have your garage door checked and repair.
Hopefully this detailed guide has simplified things for you by outlining the vital factors you should consider to help you pick out a durable and quality garage door opener.