Electronic garage door openers became popular in the 1970s and have developed into a significant market with a plethora of different sorts of automated garage door openers for industrial and residential garages. Automatic garage door openers took the trouble out of having to get out of the car to physically open the garage door.

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

Factors to take into consideration when shopping for an opener:

Do you need extra safety features for your opener? This is extremely important if you have young children.
Are you looking for a very quiet opener?
Do you live in an environment with extreme temperature levels (in which a screw drive opener might be the best pick)?
Do you require remote access?
Does your garage allow ceiling installation of the opener, or do you have high ceilings (which would make a jack-shaft the most ideal choice)?
What is your budget? Chain-drive garage door openers are the least expensive of the four options.
Chain Drive
Chain-drive garage door are the most preferred of the four types of garage door openers. They are the least expensive. They are the noisiest of the four kinds, they are very durable and are a good garage door opener option.

Belt Drive
Because they use rubber belts, belt-drive openers are more quiet than chain drives. They cost a little bit more than chain-drive openers and are best for those with living areas on read more top of or next to the garage. There are also reduced vibrations associated with this opener type.

Screw Drives
This overhead door opener kind is oftentimes used in environments with extreme temperatures since they are designed to withstand temperature changes. Screw-drive openers will not suffer from iced over chains or other weather-related problems. The tracks are plastic-lined and there is very little servicing involved.

Jack-shaft
Jack-shaft drives are very good for getting rid of that massive garage door opener box on the ceiling of your garage. Jack-shaft openers are installed on the side wall of your garage and are excellent for garages with tall ceilings. Another advantage is that they are super silent.

In case you are unsure about whichever garage door opener is best for your garage, then locate a local garage door contractor who can assist you decide.


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.