How to Choose a Garage Door Opener

If there’s one thing sure when it comes to garage door openers, it is that there are so many of them available on the market at the moment, that choosing the right one seems impossible. Especially since there are several things that you need to consider when making such a purchase – for example, the drive type or the horsepower output of the motor. 

We get the difficulty, which is why we decided to help. So, if you want to find out how to choose the right garage door opener, just keep on reading. 

How to Choose a Garage Door Opener?

As we already mentioned, there are several things that you need to take into consideration when choosing a garage door opener. It’s the same situation as with choosing a garage door service – you don’t go for the first one you see, you do your research, and look at reviews to make sure that you are making the right choice. 

Here are some of the things you need to take into consideration when picking a garage door opener. 

Type

There are three garage door opener types available on the market – chain drive, belt drive and jack shaft. Chain drive is the most common type of garage door opener, as it is suitable for almost all door opening’s widths and heights. It also can lift most materials. 

While chain drives are more durable than belt drives, but they tend to be noisier – so, if you want a silent operation, then go with a belt drive opener. Jack shaft is the least used type of garage door opener – it is a computerized system, which means that it often contains automatic deadbolts. 

Smart or Not Smart? 

If you are a forgetful person, then you should definitely go for a smart garage door opener instead of a regular one. Although it might not seem like much of a difference, it definitely makes a lot of things easier. 

For example, you won’t have to worry about whether you closed the garage door – you just have to look at the app, and you’ll know. And if you realize that you haven’t? No worries, you can close it with just one click on your phone. 

Speed 

Nobody likes to wait too long, which is why you should take into consideration how long it takes for the opener to actually open the door. 

Budget

The next thing you need to consider when choosing a garage door opener is how much money do you have at your disposal. This is because, even though there are several affordable models available on the market, the more expensive ones tend to be better in terms of quality. And there’s a good reason for that – they are made using newer technologies and better materials. 

This doesn’t mean that you will have to drain your bank account to get a decent opener, but you should still take a look at the price tag before making your purchase. 

Your Garage Door 

Depending on the material and size of your garage door, you might have to buy a stronger opener. Also, if your garage door is quite tall, you might have to add an extension kit. 

Additional Features 

Aside from the things we have mentioned above, you need to think about whether you want a simple opener, or one that has a variety of additional features, such as battery backup, overhead lights, rolling code security technology, and so on. 

A very useful feature to have are entrapment sensors. What exactly do they do? Well, a laser identifies whether there is anything near your garage door so that you can close it without any troubles. 

Tips On How to Buy the Best Garage Door Opener 

Ask For Help From Your Loved Ones

No matter what you are planning on buying – be it a new car, bike or a garage door opener – it is always good to ask your loved ones for their opinion. Maybe they also had to be one not so long ago and can recommend it to you? Or maybe they’ve been using theirs for ages, so they know the company producing them is reliable? 

Look For Online Reviews

Nowadays, one of the characteristics of a good product is positive reviews from its users. However, it might be hard finding such people in real life, which is why the internet is your second best bet. Check the website you want to buy the product from, as well as the manufacturer’s one. 

Compare Different Brands

If you have a few different models in mind, the best way to narrow your options is to compare all of them in terms of features they offer. This way you might realize that some of the features they have are more important than others. 

Quality Makes a Difference

If you have to choose between a garage door opener that is slightly more expensive but is of great quality, and a cheaper one of which quality is questionable, you should definitely go for the first one. You might think that you’ll be saving money with the second option, but the truth is that in the long run, choosing the cheaper option will prove to not be beneficial at all. 

If you have ever looked at garage door openers, then you probably saw how many of them there actually are. Because of their amount, choosing the right one can be pretty challenging – especially since you cannot really just pick the first one you see. 

As you could see above, there are several things you need to take into account when purchasing a new garage door opener – starting with its type, to your garage door and budget. In regards to the last one, it’s important to understand that you don’t have to spend a fortune – however, you should base your decision on quality, and not on price tag. 

We hope that after reading this article, you will have no problem making the right decision in terms of a garage door opener. Good luck.

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