If you are in the market for a new garage door opener, you will find that you have many options to choose from. In addition to choosing between chain drive, belt drive, and screw drive, garage door openers, you will need to decide what horsepower you need. Garage door openers are available in 1/3 hp, 1/2 hp, 3/4 hp and 1 hp.
Most homeowners are under the impression that a larger door needs an opener with more horsepower. There is some element of truth to this, but opener horsepower has less to do with the size of the door that with noise level and durability. It is true that larger garage doors weigh more than smaller doors, but garage door have lift assistance springs that handle most of the weight of the door.
A properly adjusted garage door of any size will be easy to open by hand and can be opened by the smallest garage door opener. With that said, garage doors tend to fall out of adjustment over time and even change in a large garage door can result in overloading a low horsepower opener.
The main advantages of larger garage door opener motors is that they operate more quietly and they will last longer than a low horsepower opener because they do not work as hard to open the door. In some cases, a higher horsepower motor will also open the door a little faster.
Most garage door openers have instructions for DIY installation, but for best results you should spend the money to have the opener professionally installed. Garage doors are heavy moving objects and it is easy to get hurt working with a garage door. Professional garage door opener installation will also ensure that your new opener is properly installed and adjusted for peak operation. When you need garage door repairs including installation of a new garage door opener, call a garage door service professional.
