How to Pick the Right Commercial Garage Door Opener

Got a renovation or construction project coming up? Adding a garage door to your commercial area can certainly add value to your building in several ways.

Whether you want to restyle your garage or expand it, just adding a garage door is never enough. Essential components such as a garage door operator should be added in junction with these doors to enjoy their full potential.

Benefits of a Commercial Garage Door Opener

Installing a door operator for your garage comes with multiple benefits. For starters, it makes access to your space easy and safe. Many openers come with switches and buttons that are fixed into your cars to allow hassle-free opening and closing of the garage door from your vehicle.

Modern garage operators are even better and can be integrated into desktop and mobile apps to provide a complete overview of the device's usage. The smart ones even let you operate the door remotely without a particular switch.

Some garage door openers also boast additional safety features to avoid potential damage or accidents. For example, features such as motion detectors can sense objects in the way of the door and prevent the door from shutting. This is especially helpful in high-traffic areas where operational issues are likely to occur.

In short, these systems are a great addition to any space where you prefer your garage access swift and easy.

How to Pick the Right Commercial Garage Door Opener

The selection of the most suitable garage-friendly door opener is an important yet tough decision to make. While the right door opener can fulfill your operational needs and become a long-lasting companion to your commercial garage, the wrong one can be a nuisance.

Below are a few factors you should look into to help you pick the right commercial garage door operator.

The Characteristics of Your Garage Door

Evaluating your door is the primary consideration before installing a door operator since its characteristics can heavily influence the choice.

Is your door large or heavy and requires more power to lift? 

Start by measuring the height and width of your door using a measuring tape to know what you are dealing with. Doors under 10×8 feet are called single-car garage doors and can work well with small operators. However, anything larger than this comes under a double-car garage door and needs larger operators with more horsepower.

Next, assess the material of your door. Even though the door springs lift and balance the door, heavier doors may still need a powerful opener behind them for efficient hoisting. For example, wood doors are heavier than regular uninsulated steel doors and require a potent motor. Likewise, adding insulation to a door can increase its weight and result in a larger opener.

 

The Type of Opener

Most commercial garage door openers come in the following types depending on where you want them installed.

Jackshaft Commercial Garage Door Openers

Jackshaft openers are an excellent choice for rolling steel doors or for commercial sites that do not have spacious ceilings to install devices.

These wall-mounted operators utilize turning torsion sprints to raise and lower your garage doors. And they are well-suited for vertical, sectional doors or buildings with offices above the garage. Not to mention, these openers are relatively quiet and cause little to no disturbances while operating.

Planning on buying a jackshaft operator? If so, check out this wall-mounted commercial door opener by LiftMaster.

Trolley Commercial Garage Door Openers

Unlike Jackshaft, trolley-style openers are mounted on the ceiling and are a good option for larger garage and lift doors with adequate ceiling space.

Because of their fast operation, these devices are best for busy, high-traffic areas. They can run up to 20 cycles an hour and 90 cycles daily and are accessible in single and triple-phase configurations.

The newer models can handle the large voltage and come with a circuit breaker to protect themselves against power surges. And one such model is this incredible LiftMaster's Medium Technology Trolley Operator.

Hoist Commercial Garage Door Openers

These hoist openers are installed on sizeable, sectional doors with high lift walls. However, you can also use them for rolling doors and grilles, though you would have to install the system on the hood in this case.

Either way, these garage door operators provide impressive performance and are ideal for high-cycle purposes by reaching up to 90 cycles per day. Additionally, these devices appear with hoist chains to continue the operation during emergencies and power outages.

To help you decide which commercial door operator to get, why don’t you check out this heavy-duty hoist door opener?

The Right Horsepower Option

Commercial garage door openers can usually range from 1/3 to over 1 horsepower, depending on the size and weight of your garage door.

Typically, 1/3 horsepower openers are used for moderate single-car doors constructed from lightweight material. In contrast, the larger ones function well with ½ horsepower openers.

For heavy doors or those larger than 16 feet, you can go for anything that is 1 horsepower or higher to facilitate more efficient operation and reduce strain on the motor.

Additional Features

Commercial garage openers of the current times feature multiple innovative features to ease their operation further and conform to their users' needs.

One such feature is automation which closes the garage door after a specified time through its timer and saves the operator from extensive toil. Other features can include the ability of the opener to operate during power loss, the company's safety policy, and other smart controls such as LED lights and motion sensors.

Picking the Right Commercial Garage Door Opener

The main job of a garage door operator is to provide manageable and safe access. We hope our guide helps you choose the right garage door opener for your commercial facility.

However, if you are still uncertain about your next pick, at All Security Equipment, we offer a wide variety of high-quality garage door openers and accessories from premium brands like LiftMaster. All our products arrive with warranties so that you can shop with confidence.

If you want to know more about garage door openers and other access control systems, don’t hesitate to contact us! We are dedicated to assisting our customers anytime and anywhere!