Finally, you decide to update your electric garage door opener, that’s great news. Some questions might be pondering in your mind like: will there be more quiet and brand new options? Or are there more technically advanced garage doors?
Well, you will be thrilled to know that there are tons of garage door openers that you can hop for. You will certainly discover the right-sized garage door opener which will suit your needs and taste perfectly.
In this article, we are going to talk about ways in which you can determine the size of garage door opener that you need. Firstly, we have to determine the basic function of a garage door opener. Keep going to discover more.
- The Basic Function of Garage Door Opener-:
Getting an electric garage door opener is to soften life a bit and make it easier to live. When you have a handy button to push for your garage door to open makes you able to get out of your car without rain or snow draining your entire body. When you use a garage door the main function is to help you not manually do the job yourself.
The torsion or extension spring system has to function well and must be balanced with the garage door weight that is the only way the opener will correctly do its job. The garage door opener serves as the counterweight to the dead weight of the door which weighs varies from 90 to 350lb. But, a perfectly balanced garage door that has an opener will weigh 8 to 10lb. Such weight can be easily managed with the strength of a hand.
Disconnecting the electric door opener when your door is closed is what will make you aware of whether the spring system is balanced or not. Then, you can open the door manually for about 4feet from the ground. By the time you let go, it should have been able to stay in the right position. When you check the door thoroughly and find out it is not moving then you should know that the door is balanced.
But to figure out a door that is not balanced, you will notice that it either falls shut or it shoots open quickly, hence signifying you that your spring system is not functioning well. To avoid potential damage in such a case, they should not hesitate to contact us immediately rather than trying to fix it yourself.
Heavy load that weighs up to 225lbs can be lifted by the garage door opener. Clearly, it shows that the same measure of force can come collapsing down. It can easily be crushed when a possession, person, or pet is underneath the door.
Terminologies Of Garage Door Opener
Now you can go ahead to talk about the sizes of motors, nevertheless, there are Some important terms that you need to first learn. To explain the force that a motor uses so many motors use the term “horsepower”. But, an electric garage door uses AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current) as the two types of electrical current.
It is an alternating current that only uses horsepower to describe it kind of force used. While the Newton force is the description of Direct current. Although they have their similarities, they are also fairly different.
- Motor Sizes
There are so many types of motors of different sizes. For example, the residential openers that have AC motors start from ⅓HP, ½HP, to ¾HP. While in regards to DC motors they range from 500 to 700 Newton’s. But, the residential garage door opener which is most popular is the 500 N or the ½ HP.
When we talk about industrial and commercial garage door openers, you will understand that they are generally much more powerful. Why? It is because they are based on opening heavier and larger doors. The size of the motor starts from ½ HP to 4 or even to 5 HP.
CONCLUSION
As you are more aware of the different sizes of garage door openers, then deciding the one that is best for you will no longer be difficult. Those that have a single door will commonly use 9×7 FT, then a ½HP or 500 N is going to be sufficient. But those that have double garage doors 16 ×7ft are best recommended.