The 3 Reasons Why It’s Time for a New Garage Door Opener

Has your garage door opener ever stopped working on its own? Or have you ever had your car stuck in the garage during a power outage because the opener wouldn’t work? Hopefully you don’t mind all the questions, but we ask them to make a point.

While you probably don’t give it a second thought day-to-day, it’s when you suddenly can’t use your garage door opener that you realize just how much you depend on it.

Fortunately, most name-brand openers are fairly reliable. That’s why we asked the second question above; because we knew there would be relatively few readers who have ever had an opener just plain stop working.

Why it Still Might Be Time for a New Opener

Basically, there are three main reasons why, even if your garage door opener seems to work perfectly, that you should at least consider getting a new one.

1. Working or Working Efficiently?

As one of those ‘old faithful’ appliances in your home, the mere fact that your opener continues to work is all the evidence you need to not get a new one. After all, why would you replace something that works?

Yet, while it might be working, it might not be working efficiently, and that can mean it can be costing you a lot more than you think. In addition to newer models needing less power to do the same job, there’s no telling the inefficiencies that have crept into its operation over the years.

2. New Technology

For decades, garage opener technology changed very little. A new one usually had similar features as the old one. But in the last five or ten years, that’s all changed. Many of the technological advancements in today’s openers weren’t even heard of 10 years ago. And they mean that today’s opener gives you a functionality that makes your old opener obsolete.

Internet Connectivity

Like a lot of other appliances in and around your home, you can now monitor the status of your web-connected garage opener from anywhere using PCs, tablets and smartphones. So you can know if someone opens it while you’re not home – or, perhaps more importantly, if you are at home. And if a burglar manages to open your door and get in, you can close it remotely, potentially trapping the thief.

Battery Backup

Power outage? Nothing electrical will work, except your garage opener, most of which now come with battery back-ups.

Higher Security

With security codes that change every time you use it, thieves can no longer just look for the most worn numbers on your keypad to find out how to open the door.

Safer

Have you ever arrived somewhere and realized you may have left the garage door open? That means everything in your garage is in full view of the street and anyone can come a take whatever they like. Unless you have a remote connection so you can close the door.

Motion-Activated Lights

How many times have you gone into a dark garage and had to feel around in the dark to find the light switch? Not anymore.

3. Peace of Mind

The last reason that you should replace your old garage opener has to do with convenience. If you think it’s inconvenient to do without your opener during a power outage, wait until it simply conks out on its own.

While they can look similar to older models, new garage door openers give you more than enough reason to make the switch.