All garage doors require an opener to function, and on a basic level they all work similarly: a motor powers a mechanism that is attached to a carriage, which is attached to the door allowing it to be lifted or lowered as needed. But there are many different variations on the common garage door opener, each with various benefits and drawbacks. If your garage door is noisy or takes up too much room, it may be time to switch out the opener in favor of one more beneficial to your household needs and garage space.

There are three common opener types in usage nowadays, and the usage largely depends on factors such as when your home was built, the location of the garage and the overall budget involved.

Chain-Driven Openers

These openers are the most commonly used, and are fairly straightforward. The carriage attaches to a lever that's connected to the door, and a metal chain is used to pull the carriage back and forth along a track. Since all the parts involved tend to be metal - the chain, carriage, and the track - this is usually one of the noisiest options, although more recent openers have taken steps to reduce this issue. Due to their ubiquity, chain-driven openers are one of the most economical options but can be difficult to deal with if they are placed in an area where you need peace and quiet. Also, they can be problematic to maintain in more humid areas of the country due to rusting, and will need regular maintenance to keep all the parts well-lubricated.

Belt-Driven Openers

Belt-driven units function more or less identically to chain-drive ones, with a key difference: instead of a chain, the unit utilizes a belt made out of a flexible material such as metal-reinforced rubber, polyurethane, or fiberglass. This is a vast improvement on the chain-driven design that allows for the same level of simplicity and ease of use without all of the inherent problems that metal causes. Unfortunately, these benefits come at a price, literally: belt-driven openers usually cost a good amount more than chain-driven units. If they are in the budget, though, they can be quite effective and easy to maintain in the long term.

Screw-Driven Openers

Screw-driven units take a completely different approach than the other two. Instead of a track-mounted belt, the carriage that pulls the door is attached to a long, threaded metal rod that is rotated by the motor, which in turn raises and lowers the garage door as needed. The main benefit of this style is that since there are no moving parts, this is the quiest possible type of unit to use in your garage. Unfortunately, these are also susceptible to a number of issues. Since the rod is metal, it is prone to expanding and contracting with heat and cold, which can degrade or even impair performance. The rod also needs to be lubricated regularly or the unit can malfunction even faster than the other types of openers.

There are other unit types on the market, but these are the most commonly-used nowadays. If your garage door seems too noisy for you, take a look at the opener being used! You may find that it's an older chain-driven model, which would be ill-suited for certain household arrangements. In homes with an attached garage that's being used as an office or an extra bedroom, a loud opener would be detrimental and replacing it may be a wise investment. On the other hand, if your garage is separated from your home it may not even matter if it's loud. If your opener is about ready to be replaced, take a bit of time to think about whether your current installation is working out for you before simply replacing it.