When it comes to replacing your garage door opener, you want the best opener available. Most garage door openers are built for a specific purpose.

Before considering which brand you should buy, you need to look the best type of opener for your garage door when considering its weight and composition. Plus, which features you want or need, depending on how you use it and how often you use it.

Choosing the Best Type of Opener for your Garage Door

Four essential items you should consider before buying and installing a garage door opener are drive options, horsepower (HP), motor current and safety features.

#1 Drive Options — There are multiple drive options for your opener. Drive options are number one because it’s the most crucial. Your choice depends on if you are most concerned with cost-effectiveness, how quiet it is, the size of your door, the space available or its overall versatility.

• Chain-drive — is the strongest and cheapest, best used for heavy or sectionals like wood or insulated doors and where noise is not a concern.
• Screw-drive — uses a single rod to lift the door. It’s a little quieter than a chain drive and best used for one-piece garage doors. Needs to be oiled more often than other types.
• Belt-drive — is the best choice for attached garages because it’s made of rubber and quieter. These are usually the costliest initially, though they require less maintenance.
• Direct-drive — is best used with limited space overhead, like when there is a room or apartment over the garage. These are usually wall-mounted and use a trolley to lift the door.

#2 Horsepower — next is the lifting power or HP. Most are between ¼ and 1 ¼ HP. The more HP, the bigger the door it can lift. However, using a smaller HP opener could negatively affect its lifespan.

#3 AC vs DC Power — whether your door opener uses AC or DC power has a lot of benefits and drawbacks. DC power is the most convenient, quietest and reliable as they frequently have battery backup. In a power outage, you can still open or close the door. Both plug into an AC outlet.

#4 Safety & Convenience — the most crucial is an auto-reverse mechanism to reverse the door and lift off whatever object was in the opening. All doors must have sensors and an auto-stop function, but fewer have auto-reverse, and it is more costly.

If security is a concern, make sure your garage door opener has Wi-Fi compatibility and rolling-code technology, which allows for a new code to be generated after each use. That way no one can record the operation and have easy access. Smart technology is also convenient if you can hook up to Apple Home, Alexa, Google Assistant or another system. Ask your HABPRO Garage Door installers which opener is suitable for your garage door.

Installing the Best Garage Door Opener

A top five garage door opener should last for 10 to 15 years. That’s the average lifespan, but your opener could last longer.

What we often notice when we replace a garage door opener is that the unit is not that old. Usually, that points to a DIY or an installation by unskilled labor, or they didn’t maintain it correctly. Since these units are built to last, you want to get the best garage door opener for your garage door installed and maintained by professionals.

Choose a New HABPRO Garage Door

Call Habpro Garage Doors in the Atlanta area for a free estimate, or use our handy contact form.

Posted on behalf of HABPRO Garage Doors