Best Garage Door Opener - A garage door opener is a gadget that provides easy access to your home while improving security. Features such as compatibility and automation connectivity with smart gadgets make garage doors way more convenient in this day and age. However, with so many options out there, picking the right garage door opener can be confusing and overwhelming. With a few tips from our experts, however, picking the right one should be a walk in the park.
In this read, we will go through the most important elements to check when picking the right garage door opener.
1. The Drive Options
The type of drive is one of the most vital considerations when picking a garage door opener. This component is what opens and closes the garage door. Your pick here will depend on several factors like if you need a quiet garage door, well-rounded or a cost-effective solution. The following are the primary types of garage door opener drives.
-Chain Drive Openers: This is probably the most common and reliable drive type out there. It uses a metal chain embedded on a sprocket to lift and lower doors. It is also the strongest and cheapest option, although it can be a bit noisy. It is ideal for heavier garage doors like wood or one-piece metal doors, highly insulated doors and oversized doors. If the garage door is on the other side of your bedroom, however, the noise should be a huge deal.
-Screw-drive Opener: This iteration uses a long metal rod to lift or close the door. Since it has fewer moving parts, it tends to be more reliable. If noise is a concern, the screw-drive opener is somewhere in the middle. It’s pretty durable and suitable for one-piece garage doors. However, it calls for occasional maintenance, particularly lubrication to avoid wear and tear.
-Belt-drive Opener: This type uses a belt to open and close the garage door. It does not have loud mental parts, thus making it the quietest kind. The belt-drive opener is the most expensive and thus less popular compared to the other two. If your bedroom is adjacent to the garage door, you might one to invest in this one.
-Direct-drive Opener: This is another quiet and reliable option. It is less popular than the rest, but more and more people have been turning to this opener. Its motor works like the trolley in lowering and raising the garage door.
2. The Horsepower
The horsepower (HP) rating is another imperative element to consider when picking a garage door opener. The horsepower is simply the motor's lifting ability. The ratings usually vary from ½ to 1 HP. The former is the most popular and can lift most of the conventional garage doors. ¾ HP motors are ideal for slightly oversized doors and thus popular for wood and steel garage doors. The 1 HP motors are the most powerful and versatile in the market. They are ideal for heavier garage doors such as those in commercial and industrial settings.
3. The Safety Features
When picking a garage door opener, it is important to consider safety as well. Bear in mind that the opener controls what is arguably the heaviest and biggest moving object in your home. According to federal regulations, all garage doors should have sensors that prevent the door from smashing anyone that might be near or under it. Auto-reverse is another handy feature that halts and raises the door when there’s an obstruction.
Other opener variants halt the door if it comes into contact with an object. Others shoot a laser beam and halt or reverse if the signal is interrupted. Most of the latest garage door openers have a vast array of safety features. If yours does not have these, you might consider replacing your garage door opener with one of the latest iterations.
Bottom Line
It is quite evident that picking the right garage door opener is not a daunting task when you know what to look for. Simply bear the above features and functionalities in mind and you should be able to go. Rather than the regular garage door opener repairs and maintenance, get a new model today. For more information and advice, do not hesitate to reach out to the experts at Lifetime Garage Door LV