If you are having issues with your garage door opener, it is a good time to upgrade to a new one. However, you don't just want to run out and get the first one you find. There are some decisions to make first. Here are some helpful tips for choosing the right garage door opener.

Know What Type of Drive You Want

The first decision you need to make when it comes to choosing a garage door opener is deciding which drive is best for you. There are some different types of drives, including a belt drive, chain drive, and screw drive. With the chain drive opener, it uses a pain and a trolley that helps to open and close the garage door. There is a steel rod used with a screw drive, and a belt instead of a chain with the belt drive garage door opener. The belt and screw drives are more expensive and the chain drive tends to be a little more common.

Choose Your Preferred Features

One of the main benefits of getting a new garage door opener is that you can take advantage of some of the new features that have come out. There are new safety and security features, as well as some special features that add to the overall convenience of your new garage door opener. For example, you can choose a garage door opener that lights up when being used or that comes with a backup battery control. There are new safety and security features as well, such as the reverse feature where the garage door stops closing if the sensor picks up on something under the door.

Select the Type of Control

Another decision to make with your new garage door opener is to decide on how you want to control it. Most standard automatic garage doors have a remote control that you use to open the door from outside. There are remote controls that can operate one or multiple garage doors, depending on how your garage is designed. Then there is the option of using a keyless entry pad instead. This offers a little more security because someone can't just steal the remote and gain access into your garage. Someone would need the numeric code in order to get into the garage.

If you go with the keyless entry, make sure you change the code on a routine basis and that you don't use your phone number, address, or any other numbers that would be easy to guess.