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 residential and industrial garages. Automated garage door openers took the inconvenience out of having to get out of the car to physically open the overhead door.

There are four types of overhead door openers: chain driven, belt drive, screw driven, and jack-shaft. Every type works in a different way and your specific requirements will direct you to the best opener for your garage door.

Details to take into account when looking for an opener:

Do you need added safety features for your opener? If you have little ones, this is particularly important.
Are you looking for a very quiet opener?
Do you live in an environment with extreme temperatures (in which a screw drive opener might be the very best pick)?
Do you need to have remote access?
Does your garage allow ceiling setup 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 favored of the four types of garage door here openers. They are the least expensive. Although they are the noisiest of the four kinds, they are extremely durable and are a good garage door opener choice.

Belt Drive
Due to the fact that they use rubber belts, belt-drive openers are quieter than chain drives. They cost a little more than chain-drive openers and are best for those with living rooms at the 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 often 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 limited upkeep required.

Jack-shaft
Jack-shaft drives are excellent for eliminating that large garage door opener box on the ceiling of your garage. Jack-shaft openers are mounted on the side wall of your garage and are perfect for garages with high ceilings. Another perk is that they are incredibly quiet.

In the event that you are uncertain about whichever garage door opener is most ideal for your garage, then choose a local garage door professional 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 commercial and residential 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.