Garage door opener replacement can easily become a daunting experience if you don’t know your options and why choose one model over another. What often comes in the way is the right choice of motors. So far we have been talking about screw, chain, and belt drive garage door openers. We have analyzed their pros and cons and always tried to find the best solutions for each garage. But now things get more complicated only to make our lives easier. This is not a paradox. It’s a fact. It might be hard to select a motor but once you do, you get the convenience you wanted all along. And that’s the reason why you should go for a DC garage door motor.
DC motors are the abbreviation of Direct Current motors.
AC motors are the abbreviation of Alternating Current motors.
So, what do we have here? AC & DC and doors – absolutely no relation to either (music) band. They are actually both types of motors made to turn electric power into mechanical power. But they do it in a different way. Up to know, garage door openers operated on AC motors. And these types were strong and long-lasting. No argument here. But if these motors are as good as they say, why do we have to turn to DC motors nowadays? Well, it has to do with the new technology. And not just that.
Why do we need DC motorized garage door openers?
Don’t forget that the new electric garage door openers are advanced. They might be internet enabled and thus activated by your smartphone. Most new models integrate a backup battery, which will spare you lots of hassle during a power outage. New openers also include a number of safety and security features, like the timer to close. This system allows you to pre-set the opener to close the door should you forget to do it so yourself.
These are all very convenient and useful features. And they are not the only ones. Not to mention that garage door clickers and openers keep getting better. More advanced technologically, smarter, more convenient. They enable you to monitor your door easier and remotely. But they also need a motor that can support such high tech systems. And AC motors cannot do that. DC motors can.
The benefits of DC garage door motors
Apart from supporting new technology, DC motors for garage doors are
also small. That’s a good thing because the opener box will either be small and thus more elegant or would fit more parts. Take the backup battery for example. It can’t fit in the box where an AC motor is installed because these motors occupy too much space. Apart from that, DC motors are quieter even with chain drive openers. They can also speed up or slow down the movement of the door and thus enable the soft start and stop feature many openers provide.
DC motors utilize brushes but if you want them to last longer, get brushless motors. The bottom line is that DC motors rapidly become the dominant choice in the opener market and for plenty of good reasons too. And don’t forget that opener technology doesn’t stop here. Motors will develop along even more too. All to make our lives much simpler.
