Electric overhead door openers became popular in the 1970s and have evolved into an enormous market with a huge selection of different kinds of automatic overhead door openers for commercial and residential garages. Automated garage door openers took the inconvenience out of needing to leave the car to manually open up the garage door. Various garage door openers can be installed by skilled do-it-yourselfers, however, for most, installation should be left to the experts. When basic safety is such an essential issue, as it is with garage doors and garage door openers, it's simply better to leave it to the specialists.

There are four styles of garage door openers: chain drive, belt driven, screw drive, and jack-shaft. Each kind operates differently and your particular needs will guide you to the most ideal opener for your garage door.

Points to consider when purchasing an opener:

Do you prefer additional safety capabilities for your opener? This is specifically important if you have little ones.
Are you shopping for a very quiet opener?
Do you live in a climate with extreme temperature levels (in which a screw drive opener will be optimum selection)?
Do you need remote control access?
Does your garage facilitate ceiling mounting of the opener, or do you have high ceilings (which would make a jack-shaft the best option)?
What is your budget? Chain-drive openers are the least pricey of the four options.
Chain Drive
Chain-drive openers are probably the most popular of the four kinds of garage door opener. They are the least expensive. They are the noisiest of the four types, they are very durable and are a solid overhead door opener choice.

Belt Drive
Belt-drive garage door openers are quieter than chain drives since they use rubber belts. They cost a bit more than chain-drive openers and are best for people with living areas above or next to the garage. There are also minimal vibrations associated with this opener type.

Screw Drives
This overhead door opener type is usually used in climates with harsh temperatures since they are built to hold up against temperature changes. Screw-drive openers won't struggle with iced up chains or other weather-related matters. The tracks are plastic-lined and there is very little care required.

Jack-shaft
Jack-shaft drives are great check here for getting rid of that big overhead door opener box on the ceiling of your garage. Jack-shaft openers are installed on the side wall of your garage and are great for garages with tall ceilings. Another advantage is that they are very silent.

Find a local garage door professional who can assist you decide if you are not sure about which garage door opener is better for your garage.


Automatic garage door openers became popular in the 1970s and have evolved into a huge market with a plethora of different kinds of automatic garage door openers for residential and commercial garages. Automatic garage door openers took the inconvenience out of having to get out of the car to manually open the garage door. When safety is such an important issue, as it is with garage doors and garage door openers, it's simply better to leave it to the experts.