Do you need a garage door opener?

What about screw-drive openers?

Screw-drive garage door openers are another type of direct-drive garage door opener. Once popular, and still available, screw-drive openers typically have less feedback and poorer ratings than other types. The screw-drive's relatively simple mechanism, which moves up and down a threaded steel rod, makes for a powerful, low-maintenance garage door opener; but screw-drive models are both noisy and slow. We did not spot a screw drive model with sufficiently strong feedback to include in this edition of our report.

Do you need a garage door opener?

Garage door openers (like MIGHTY MULE 350 ) are a luxury under some circumstances, but become most appreciated when the weather turns nasty. They are also a near necessity if the task of opening and closing a garage door is too challenging, due to physical limitations. Most are relatively inexpensive and highly reliable, though unless you are very handy, you should probably budget for professional installation.

Modern garage door openers include basic to advanced features that improve safety and deter break-ins. Examples include an automatic stop if a descending door encounters a solid object such as the hood of a car and light beam sensors that detect the presence of an object -- or a person or pet -- and stop a garage door's downward movement before accident or injury can occur. Available security options include remote lockouts for when you will be away from home for an extended amount of time, remote codes that change after each use, and lights that turn on automatically when your garage door opens or if movement is detected inside.

Most garage door openers include a remote that lets you open and close the door from the comfort and safety of your car. Some garage door openers support Internet connectivity, either as an add-on or built in. This allows you to use an app that lets you open or close the garage door from your smartphone or tablet, and monitor your garage door's status (open or closed) from anywhere that you can connect to the net.

Some garage door openers are compatible with HomeLink, a remote control technology that's built into some automobiles. However, due to a technology change, many older HomeLink-equipped cars are not compatible with new HomeLink-enabled garage door openers without the purchase of an optional interface; you can also simply ignore your car's built in controls in favor of the remote control that comes with the opener, but that's a solution that seems to annoy owners.

At first glance, there appears to be a wide variety of garage door opener brands, but a closer look reveals that most openers are made by just a handful of companies. For example, Chamberlain garage door openers are well regarded in their own right, but the company also makes garage door openers for Craftsman and LiftMaster. Likewise, the Overhead Door Co. manufactures Genie garage door openers in addition to its own brand.