Electronic garage door openers got 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 personally 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 needs will guide you to the most suitable opener for your garage door.

Factors to think about when shopping for an opener:

Do you need extra safety capabilities for your opener? This is extremely important if you have little ones.
Are you shopping for a very quiet opener?
Do you live in an environment with extreme temperature levels (in which a screw drive opener will be the best selection)?
Do you require remote control access?
Does your garage facilitate ceiling installation of the opener, or do you have high ceilings (which would make a jack-shaft the best option)?
What is your budget? Chain-drive garage door openers are the least expensive of the four options.
Chain Drive
Chain-drive openers are probably the most preferred of the four types of garage door openers. 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 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 developed to hold up against temperature changes. Screw-drive openers won't struggle with frosted chains or other weather-related issues. The tracks are plastic-lined and there is very limited maintenance required.

Jack-shaft
Jack-shaft drives are great for abolishing that big overhead door opener box on the ceiling of your garage. Jack-shaft openers are set up on the side wall of your garage and are most ideal for garages with here tall ceilings. Another bonus is that they are very silent.

In case you are doubtful about which garage door opener is ideal for your garage, then locate a local garage door expert who can help you make a decision.


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.