The 10 Best Garage Door Openers
This wiki has been updated 39 times since it was first published in March of 2015. These convenient garage door openers provide both easy access and additional security for your house's most vulnerable entrance. Our selection offers a variety of modern features, including remote operation from almost anywhere using a mobile device, wireless intercoms, lighting, and near-silent drive systems, so you won't wake up the entire household when you come home late. When users buy our independently chosen editorial selections, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. Chamberlain B6765
2. Sommer Direct Drive
3. Chamberlain B1381
Editor's Notes
February 09, 2021:
As the Internet of Things continues to influence the appliances that inhabit our homes, smart operation is becoming more commonplace among newer door openers. This is certainly reflected in the latest additions to our ranking, with three out of the four having smart compatibility, or the option to buy a smart controller separately.
If you are looking for a basic but powerful installation, without the bells and whistles that accompany mobile connectivity, then the Sommer Direct Drive is a good choice, as its main focus is on safety and durability. Similarly, the BeamUp Workhorse provides reliable yet basic operation, with its smart controller sold separately, but bear in mind that this is intended for use with sectional doors only.
Finally, we included two very similar models in the Genie StealthDrive and the Chamberlain B6765. They both might be considered if you live in an area where there are frequent power outages, as they each have a built-in battery backup, giving you a little extra security. The latter also includes a high-quality camera with a night vision lens and two-way chat to facilitate live conversation between the garage's occupants and those in the home, plus it streams live footage directly to your device.
May 07, 2019:
Garage door openers might just be the most convenient way to enter your home. Not only that, they can greatly enhance one's safety late at night when the street is dark, since they eliminate the need to exit the car outside where an attacker could potentially be lurking. No review of garage door openers would be complete without including a variety of options from Chamberlain, quite probably the most well-known manufacturer of these items. The Chamberlain B1381 and Chamberlain B970 are both full-featured models that come equipped with Wi-Fi, built-in battery backups, informative control panels, and more. The main difference between these two units is the corner-to-corner illumination the B1381 provides, so if you don't need or care that much about having an exceptionally bright light in your garage, you may as well opt for the cheaper B970. It is worth mentioning that Chamberlain requires a paid subscription to connect its units to Google Assistant and other services they consider premium partners. The Chamberlain PD510 is another option that made our list from this manufacturer due to it being an affordable, but reliable, no-frills option. Liftmaster is another brand owned by the Chamberlain group, and all Craftsman openers are also manufactured by Chamberlain, so you can expect the same quality from the LiftMaster Premium Series 8360 and Craftsman 54985. However, unlike the Craftsman and Chamberlain models, the Liftmaster models are intended to be installed by a professional, so if you are planning on doing the work yourself, expect a slightly more complicated procedure with the LiftMaster Premium Series 8360. The German-engineered Sommer Direct Drive 1042V004 doesn't have as many bells and whistles as some of the Chamberlain options, but it is a high-quality, chain-driven unit that will last for years to come. The Genie SilentMax is an incredibly-quiet unit that is compatible HomeLink and Car2U systems.
Special Honors
Castle Custom Wood Garage Doors A garage door usually takes up a significant portion of your home's facade, so it's often worth investing in an aesthetically-pleasing and secure solution. These wooden doors from California-based Castle can be fitted in many different styles, including many that work with the garage door openers listed here, adding hand-made quality and curb-value to your home in the process. castlegaragedoors.com
4. Craftsman 54985
5. Chamberlain B970
6. Genie StealthDrive
7. LiftMaster Premium Series 8360
8. Decko 24300
9. Skylink AT-1622BK
10. BeamUp Workhorse
A Brief History Of Garage Door Openers
This meant that your opener would be specific to your door, like a combination to a safe.
Garages have been around for a long time. Exactly how long depends on what you consider to be a garage–is a stable a garage? A shed large enough to park a car? These are the questions that keep me up at night.
Fortunately for our purposes, the history of garage door openers is much more clear-cut. A gentleman by the name of C.G. Johnson invented the electric overhead garage door opener in 1926. Unfortunately, demand for the new product wasn't very high, largely due to the fact that the only way to open it was via a switch located on a pole at the end of a driveway.
This shortcoming was quickly noticeable, however, and two teams of inventors separately created remote-controlled openers using technology that had become available, thanks to World War Two. These new models had to be installed in the cars themselves, and used radio bursts on specific frequencies to activate the system.
As these units became more popular, a glaring problem became readily apparent: the openers were all using the same frequencies. This meant that when you opened your garage, your neighbor's door might come up as well. This was fantastic news for home invaders, but less welcome by the average American.
In the 1970s, fixed-code openers hit the market, with varying degrees of encryption. This meant that your opener would be specific to your door, like a combination to a safe. Of course, criminals are always up on new technologies, and in recent years they have created a device that can hack a door in seconds. As a result, most modern openers use a rolling system in which a new code is generated every time the door is used, so even if a criminal gets his hands on your code, it will already be useless.
This, of course, raises a very important question: there are hackers out there who devote themselves to garage door openers? Really?
How Do Garage Door Openers Work?
A common misconception about automatic garage doors is that the electric motor does a lot of pulling to raise and lower the door. In fact, most doors are manufactured using a counterbalance system, similar to that of an elevator. Gravity does most of the work - the opener just has to get the ball rolling.
This gives you more space and is extremely quiet, but also more expensive.
The powerful rolled torsion springs above the door do the heavy lifting. When tightened, they apply torque to the shaft, which then rolls up the cables or chains attached to the door, pulling it open. To close, the springs simply release the pressure, and the shaft turns the opposite direction. These springs are under extreme amounts of pressure, and if they ever snapped, they could easily kill someone.
The motor is attached to the chain or cables, and its main function is to start the raising or lowering process as well as dictate how much the door will open or close. For most modern units, it also acts as a lock, with the only key being the remote that comes with it.
There are several different types of opening systems. Some use chains or belts, as mentioned above, while others use a screw drive to increase or decrease the torque on the springs. An increasingly popular option is the jack shaft, which attaches directly to the torsion bar with no need for railings. This gives you more space and is extremely quiet, but also more expensive.
Regardless of which one you end up purchasing, the springs should give you 10-15 years of work before they need replacing. When that time comes, hire a professional, because seriously, those things are terrifying!
The Future of Garage Door Openers Is Now
We've come a long way from the switch-on-a-pole days of garage door openers. Today's models have more bells and whistles than C.G. Johnson ever would've thought possible when he invented them (although he might have considered putting literal bells and whistles on his).
One of the biggest game-changers for the industry is the ubiquity of smartphones. There are apps for opening and closing the door, turning lights on and off, and even regulating the temperature inside the garage. These apps are fantastic for those times when you get on a plane to begin your two-week vacation, only to immediately start to panic over whether or not you closed the garage.
It's reassuring that all of these features combine to help keep your family safe, but it's also somewhat troubling to think of how dangerous garages must have once been.
Safety features have also gotten more sophisticated. While the sensors that detect motion underneath the door have become more sensitive, it's also possible to completely turn off the remote access if you like. This keeps thieves at bay while simultaneously eliminating the chance that something will get struck by the door, like a neighborhood kid, or worse, your car.
Many now have carbon monoxide detectors that open the door if levels become dangerously high, preventing poisoning. Additionally, you can get options with fingerprint access, so kids can get into the house safely after school without needing a separate remote. It's reassuring that all of these features combine to help keep your family safe, but it's also somewhat troubling to think of how dangerous garages must have once been.
Some companies are even trying to turn garage door openers into entertainment centers. Certain models come with the option of connecting Bluetooth speakers and Wi-Fi antennas, allowing you to turn your carport into a man cave almost instantly. Laser-assisted parking is also available, which is great if you've ever taken out a door or a wall after a long day of work.
There's no telling what the future holds for these devices, but one thing is clear: it's high time they invented a garage door opener that can clean my garage for me, too.
Having grown weary of working in office environments, music graduate Luke decided to trade the dismal skies of southern England for the far more agreeable climate of south Asia. Prior to writing for Ezvid Wiki, he established a small agency providing websites for clients all over the world. This enabled him to travel extensively, living for prolonged periods in a number of interesting countries and experiencing several different cultures along the way. When not playing or writing music, Luke likes to ride his motorcycle in far-flung regions where the air is thin and the roads are dusty. His areas of expertise are largely gleaned from his nomadic lifestyle and include travel, computers, automotive goods and accessories, musical instruments and gear, and boats.