Buying Guide For Garage Door Openers
A garage door opener will give you illuminated, and easy access to your home and can help to improve security. Features like home automation system connectivity and smart device compatibility make these more convenient. Take time and learn more about chain drive, screw drive, direct drive, and belt drive models so that you are able to find the best garage door opener that works for your home.
Types of Garage Door Openers
Standard garage door openers have a comparative outline. An engine drives a trolley or carriage along a rail. The trolley is associated with the garage door and as the trolley moves, it pulls the entryway open or pushes it shut. The principle distinction between garage door opener models is the manner by which the engine moves the trolley.
Chain-Drive Garage Door Openers
A chain-drive garage door opener utilizes a metal fasten to drive the trolley and raise or lower the entryway. Chain-drive frameworks are efficient decisions however have a tendency to make more commotion and vibration than different sorts. In the event that your carport is disconnected from the house, commotion may not be a worry, but rather if the carport is under a living space or a room, you might need to consider a calmer choice.
Belt-Drive Garage Door Openers
A belt-drive garage door opener works likewise to the chain-drive framework, however utilizes a belt as opposed to an anchor to move the trolley. This belt gives calmer, smoother operation, settling on it a decent decision for homes with living or resting spaces above or nearby the carport. Belt-drive frameworks have less moving parts, bringing about lower support needs.
Screw Drive Garage Door Openers
A screw-drive garage door opener utilizes a strung steel pole to move the lifting component. As the bar turns, it drives the trolley along the track to raise or lower the entryway. These units are generally calmer than chain-drive frameworks. Like belt-drive openers, less moving parts mean decreased support.
Direct Drive garage door openers
Direct drive garage door openers offer a quite machine. The motor functions like a trolley and will travel down the track, lowering or raising the door. This means that the system is made a single moving part which results in reduced vibration and noise, and fewer requirements for maintenance.
Garage Door Opener Features
Standard garage door openers will share common components:
- The manual release will let you disengage the opener from inside of the garage and lower or raise the door manually.
- Remotes and wall-mount keypads or buttons will open the door.
- Rail segments are normally sized up to 7 feet tall.
- Security lights will activate when you use the operate the system and turns off automatically after a certain amount of time.
In addition, look for other features:
- Motion-sensing security lights will automatically operate.
- Including rail extensions make the opener compatible up to 8 feet high.
- Battery backup will let you operate the opener if there is a power outage.
- Soft stop/start motors reduce the wear and tear on the opener and keep it quieter.
- Locks allow you to prevent remotes from opening the garage door.
- Auto close functionality lowers the door automatically after a certain amount of time.
- Vehicle compatibility lets the opener that is built into a certain vehicle open the door.
- Smart device compatibility can be built-in or available for some models and lets you operate and monitor the opener from your mobile device.
- Built-in WiFi will connect the opener directly to your wireless network and lets you open the door using an app without using the automation system.
- Home automation system connectivity lets you control the opener remotely.
- Miniature keychain remote will fit in a pocket.
Good to Know
Garage door openers have engines that keep running on either on a direct current (DC) or rotating current (AC). Both connect to a standard home electrical plug, yet DC-fueled openers change over AC to DC control. The upsides of a DC engine incorporate littler size, calmer operation, and milder starts and stops. Some DC-engine openers incorporate battery reinforcement, permitting operation when the power is out.
Horsepower
Search for horsepower (HP) ratings to compare the lifting power between garage door opener models. Evaluations running from 1/2-hp to 1-1/2 hp are run of the mill for private models. On the off chance that you have a sectional 2 car garage door, a 1/2-hp ought to be adequate, yet a higher-control model will work with less exertion and less wear and tear on the engine. Heavier or one-piece entryways may require higher-strength openers.
Good to know
Most wall-mount buttons and remotes, as well as keypads, can control multiple garage door openers. Which is usefully for multiple garage bays with separate doors.
Check the product information to ensure that your garage door opener and features are compatible with your door and fit the ceiling height in your garage.
Great to Know
Garage door openers with DC engines may utilize evaluations, for example, HPC (horsepower comparable) or HPS (Horsepower similar) to enable you to look at control choices.
Safety and Security
In case you have a garage door system that was made before 1993, it doesn’t typically have modern safety measures.
Safety – Modern garage door openers are connected to infrared sensors’ eyes that watch for people, pets, and objects in the path of the garage door. In the event that something is in the path of the garage door while it is closing it stops and returns to the fully open position. It’s important to ensure that your garage door has some type of safety measures to prevent injury on your property. Not only do these measures remove the risk of liability but they also simply keep your family and visitors safer.
Security – Today’s garage doors also are harder for burglars to get into as they have revolving codes for the remotes. Each time a signal is sent from your remote it is a unique identifier that causes the garage to operate. As it is always changing it makes it very hard for would-be criminals to steal your code and gain access to your garage, and home. Invest in a higher level of security with new technology that is available in today’s garage door openers.