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Garage door openers have come a long way in the last 30 years when it comes to standard features and safety.  All garage door openers sold today have remote controls with rolling code technology that prevents other remote controls from opening your garage door. 

They also all have a reversing safety mechanism that reverses a closing door when an obstruction is detected, a safety release mechanism that allows for manual opening of the door in the event of a power outage, and a light that illuminates your garage when the door is opened and shuts off after a few minutes.

When purchasing a new garage door opener, consider some of the options available beyond the standard features found on all modern garage door openers.  One option to consider is a battery backup.  In the event of a power outage, the battery backup will allow the opener to operate normally instead of having to disengage the door and open it manually.

Another handy option is a wireless remote external keypad. These allow you to open your garage door from outside by entering a code or, on some units, by using a fingerprint reader. 

Finally, remote controls can be as simple as a single button to active a single door, or they can have additional features.  Some remote control units will operate more than one door, a handy feature if you have more than one garage door and you don’t always park your car in the same spot.  Some remote controls also have a button to turn on the light.  This is nice feature if the light timer goes off before you get out of the car to go into the house.

Probably the most common myth about garage door openers is that your neighbor’s remote control could open your garage door.  Worse, a burglar could drive down your street pushing the button on a remote control until someone’s garage door opens.  While this may once have been true, for over ten years, all garage door openers sold have something called “rolling code” technology.  Without going into detail, it essentially means that only your remote control will open your garage door. 

If you have a garage door opener that is more than ten years old, you should probably consider replacing it to take advantage of this and other security features present on modern garage door openers.

Another common myth is that the door could close on a child or on the trunk of your car.  This is another myth that may have been true at one time, but since 1993, all garage door openers are required to have a safety mechanism that will reverse the door if anything is detected in the path of the door.  These safety mechanisms are usually a sensor that detects if a beam of light across the door opening is blocked.  It is important to make sure this safety feature is in good working order and properly adjusted. 

Finally, people occasionally express concern that there car will be trapped in the garage in the event of a power outage.  Since 1982, all garage door opener are equipped with a release handle that allows the door to be disengaged from the opener and opened manually.