LiftMaster is one of the predominant automated garage door opener manufacturers in the world.
Owned by the Chamberlain Group which is also a well-known garage door opener brand, LiftMaster offers a wide variety of models that offer many features and benefits along with durability.
A quality garage door opener system may last 10-15 years although the individual remote control boxes may need replacement over time with repeated use.
What are the best features to look for in a automatic garage door opener system for home use?
Look for a belt driven model with varying speeds with a battery back up feature and the ability to add a keypad outside the garage for remote entry. Standard features on your chosen model should also include lights, rolling code technology, smartphone access and more.
Below we’ll discuss these features and benefits in more detail and what each one offers you.
Belt driven rather than chain driven
To me, this is one of the main benefits of the LiftMaster model over other older style garage door openers: Rather than using a clunky and loud chain-driven design, this model shown below uses a belt design instead.
The belt design is noticeably quieter and operates more smoothly than a chain. The belts are durable and should last at least as long (and often longer) than a chain-drive model. The friction and movement of metal parts in a chain model doesn’t exist in a belt-driven product which helps to extend the lifespan.
On the downside, belt-driven garage door opener models do tend to be more expensive to purchase. They can’t carry as much weight as chain garage door openers so some larger doors, wooden doors and other designs may not be suitable for a belt-driven application.
Check with your installer before purchasing any garage door opener system to ensure it’s compatible with your garage door(s).
Fast/slow motion when closing
While older garage door opener models generally open and close a garage door at one consistent speed, this LiftMaster model does things a bit differently.
The model initially closes and opens quicker than normal but as the garage door gets close to being fully opened or closed, it will automatically slow down for the last few seconds of operation.
An average garage door opener can move (open or close) the door at a rate of about 7″ per second. The fastest models on the market can move a garage door as quickly as 12″ per second.
At a speed of 7″ per second of movement, your garage door will probably open or close within 12-15 seconds.
Some models will also let you slightly adjust the motor speed. While you might pay more for this convenience, it could be worth it if you like the door to open and close quickly for whatever reason.
Battery backup during a power failure
Garage door openers are powered by electricity and are directly plugged into the wall. During a power outage however, they won’t operate which means your vehicle could be locked in or out of your garage.
Modern garage door opener systems come with a battery back up to account for this problem. Should a power failure occur, the system will enable you to open the close the door automatically as normal by running off the battery.
While the battery might have a charge that will last for a period of time such as 24 hours, it also depends on how many times you open and close the garage door while there is no electricity.
The battery will begin to recharge again once the power goes back on.
Outside keypad
An outside the house keypad enables you to open and close the garage door by entering a numeric code that you set. It’s handy for when a remote control device stops working or isn’t available. It’s typically used when you’re outside the house and want to get in through the garage.
Parents often use the keypad to give garage access to their kids when coming home from school for example. It’s also handy if you’re going walking or jogging and want to leave the house through the garage rather than the front door.
You might also for example provide the code to a trusted delivery company so they can deliver a package and leave it safely inside your garage rather than leaving it outside your house where it might be stolen.
You typically fasten the keypad outside the garage door so that’s easy to access and close enough to the garage door motor unit inside the garage that it can communicate to it wirelessly.
Other standard features a garage door opener should have
While older models may be feature deficient, modern garage door opener products come with benefits that should be considered standard at this point:
Rolling Code technology: Garage door openers operate on a technology where radio signals are used between the remote control that you keep in your car and the motor drive that is attached on the ceiling of your garage. Hackers can try to exploit this and try to crack the code but rolling code technology changes the code each time the opener is used to reduce the chance of it being hacked.
It’s sort of like using a basic password for a website login like “1234” versus using a longer password with numbers and symbols that you change every day.
This feature works automatically behind the scenes and you don’t need to do anything other than being aware that your system does or doesn’t have it.
Smartphone accessibility: Modern garage door systems can utilize an app to monitor and operate the device through your cellphone. While an average person might not require this functionality it’s good to have just in case.
Manual release pull down: This is the rope that hangs down near the pulley system inside your garage. It’s a quick release system that when pulled down towards the ground, will release the garage door from the opener system that locks the door in place.
You only need to use this manual release in the instance where the garage door opener isn’t working or you otherwise want to open the garage door manually. You might never need to use this feature but it’s there just in case.
Convenience features: Your garage door opener system may offer other convenience features such as displaying the time, date and temperature in the garage.
Lights: Modern garage door opener systems not only have lights that turn on when the garage door is opened or closed, but often come with a motion detector feature too. So if you walk into your garage at night for any reason, the lights automatically turn on. Just a nice convenience that you’ll probably appreciate at times.
Safety sensor: All garage door openers sold must have a safety feature that causes the garage door opener to immediately stop and reverse direction (go back up) when the door meets resistance. Basically if a person or thing gets in the way of the door closing, the moment resistance is felt, the door will reverse direction to avoid hurting someone or something or damaging the door.
Summary
Perhaps you just need a basic garage door opener system that is reasonably priced that opens and closes your garage door as needed. Maybe you’d like one with a few extra features that adds to the convenience. LiftMaster offers a number of garage door openers at various price points to meet your budget and needs.
LiftMaster is owned by Chamberlain which is another well-regarded garage door opener manufacturer. You’ll probably come across both names when researching models as they are both very prevalent and easy to find.
I wrote about other issues related to garage door opener topics in an article called 7 Secrets About Garage Door Openers that you might like to consider.
