A garage door opener is an electrical device that manually opens and closed garage doors partially controlled by sensors on the garage ceiling. Most include a small handheld radio transmitter carried by the individual, which enables him to operate the door from a distance. Garage door openers are designed to withstand the wear and tear of constant use and are generally of good quality. They are very useful in homes with handicapped individuals. Garage doors that are manually operated can pose a fire risk if neglected. It is therefore advisable to use a remote-controlled opener whenever possible.
The system uses a trolley to carry a charge of batteries and the switch box to activate the motor. The trolley needs to be lifted by a rope or cord from the ground. The charge then charges the batteries, which forms a negative charge when placed inside the trolley. The motor turns on and begins moving the trolley along the tracks, pulling the trolley along the tracks.
The trolley has one end fitted with a rotary control, and the other end fitted with a screw drive. Manual garage doors can also feature a torsion spring, which enables the opener to operate at full force without engaging any motor parts. Garage openers can have either a continuous drive or an alternating drive mechanism. Torsion spring openers use a series of steel torsion cables wound around a shaft, which is fitted to the motor. The cables are placed inside the garage doors and when the motor is in use, these cables get the twisting force, which in turn, spins the torsion spring.
Some garage door openers use a single-point or double-point remote control. These can be programmed to allow or block the opening of specific doors. Certain models can allow a user to program more than one “zone” of a remote. This allows a user to program in several different zones that will be opened in sequence, or in whatever order a user desires. Garage openers with remote controls can be programmed to open several small openings in a row, or to automatically open the entire garage in one fluid movement.
A major advancement in modern garage door opening openers is the use of safety features. Safety features can help prevent against the chance of serious injuries occurring when using garage door openers. Some common safety features include automatic emergency stopping, manual override, and anti-crash technology. Automatic emergency stopping ensures that the garage door opener will stop and drop back when danger is detected. Manual override allows a user to override the automatic closing mechanism to allow access into the garage. Anti-crash technology deploys a system that detects excessive battery power and will stop the machine if a battery charge falls below a certain point.
Each type of garage door opener has different types of horsepower. A higher horsepower garage door opener requires more energy to raise the door, which is why these machines are used mostly for commercial purposes. There are several different types of horsepower, including: electric, gasoline, and diesel.