The Best Garage Door Opener

Garage door motors and power

Most garages rely on a counterbalance system to absorb most of the door’s weight. However, it’s the electric motor that does the rest of the work. Since doors come in a variety of sizes and weight classes, it makes sense that motors have different levels of horsepower. Electric garage door openers range from ½ horsepower to even 1 – ¼ horsepower. Having access to a range of horsepower is great, but which one is the best?

Electric operators and power application

Garage door motors are constantly rated in terms of horsepower. However, a more reasonable rating would be torque. Torque determines the amount of work a motor can do, weight in this case. And horsepower determines how much of that work can be done over an increment of time. Consider two motors with the same amount of torque, however one has a ½ horsepower rating and the other has a ¾ horsepower rating. Both of these motors are able to lift the same amount of weight. But, the ¾ horsepower motor will lift the door faster than the ½ horsepower motor. This has to do with restricting factors such as the maximum Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) and how long it takes to reach its optimal RPM. The ¾ horsepower motor is able to operate at a higher RPM much faster than the ½ horsepower motor. When it comes to determining which type of motor you need, you want to consider how heavy your overhead door is and how quickly you need it to open. This will determine type of motor you need for your garage.