Commercial garage door openers and operating devices are motorized devices that are designed to open and close large doors in industrial workplaces and settings. These doors are useful in operating different types of commercial garage doors, ranging from sectional models to overhead steel installations.

However, while choosing a commercial garage door opener, you need to understand several factors that will help you make the right decision. Without the right door opener for your commercial space, you won’t be able to ensure safety.

In this article, you’ll learn about the top features to look for while buying commercial garage door openers for your workspace. Furthermore, you’ll also learn about various types of door openers that you can choose from.

What are the Different Types of Commercial Garage Door Openers?

Commercial overhead door operators are divided into a few different categories. The most common types of doors include:

● Trolley Openers:

These are the most prominent openers available in the market. Their design is similar to residential openers. They use a trolley mechanism on horizontal tracks.

Commercial trolley openers are a great choice for buildings or warehouse units that are equipped with sectional overhead doors. Doors available include light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty capacities, depending on the weight and size of your door.

● Jackshaft Openers:

These openers are designed for vertical mounting instead of overhead mounting. They go in the side door instead of the area behind the door.

Many commercial and industrial environments need a lot of vertical space and clearance to ensure easy product and equipment movement, which makes the jackshaft openers the right choice. These commercial door operators are a great choice for sectional and rolling doors.

● Hoist Openers:

Commercial hoist-style door operators are as same as jackshifts when it comes to functioning. They are mounted on the wall beside the door. However, hoist operators are built differently, as they include a floor-level hoist chain that makes it easy to manually operate the door in case of emergencies and power cuts.

However, these openers lack an emergency disconnection lever or release cord for manual use. They are usually medium-duty and ideal for lighter commercial doors. They also work smoothly with high-lift and vertical-lift sectional doors, along with light rolling doors and grilles.

Drive Systems Used in Commercial Garage Door Openers

A commercial garage door opener’s motor has a drive mechanism to move the door along the tracks. Plus, there are two types of drive mechanisms available, such as:

● Chain Drive:

These openers involve the use of a metal chain connected to the trolley. When the motor operates, it drives the trolley along the trail, lifting and lowering the garage door. Chain drive systems are famous for their strength. They are well-suited for heavy commercial use.

● Jackshaft Systems:

This mechanism doesn’t work like the traditional drive mechanism, which uses the motor to power the trolley. Instead, they are placed on the wall and connected directly to the horizontal shaft of the door. A jackshaft system is the right option for rolling doors and different lift designs.

Essential Features to Check Out in Commercial Garage Door Openers

Here are some essential features that you need to consider while hunting for a commercial garage door opener:

● Security Features:

You may need an opener for business security reasons. Buildings like fire stations and apartment buildings require door openers with time-to-close features that automatically close at a set time, preventing theft and harm to your facility and staff.

● Horsepower:

The horsepower of the garage door openers, especially the commercial ones, can differ. Buildings like apartments usually require an opener with more horsepower to accommodate high-traffic volumes.

Staff and customers can enter or exit multiple times regularly, increasing the operation cycles of your garage doors. A powerful opener will conveniently support high traffic volumes and remain functional for a long time.

● Speed:

Time is money for any business. This is where speed comes to play. Commercial garage door openers are capable of faster door opening, helpful in streamlining operations.

The speed of the opener also improves the level of safety for staff and customers during an emergency. You can quickly open your garage doors with a remote control instead of lifting them manually. This will help people exit your premises as fast as possible.

Openers also have different speed features for opening multiple doors at the same time, improving operations like loading and unloading or emergency drills.

● Safety Mechanisms:

Safety mechanisms are also an important feature in openers, especially for various commercial businesses. For the sake of safety, you don’t want an employee, customer, car, or object to get stuck under the door of your garage while it is closing. Right?

Well, opener sensing features can make a closing door reverse when a staff member or customer approaches. Different opener-detecting features can help you ensure that the doors don’t shut on cars or other objects.

Sensors can force the door up or open when they detect movement or come into contact with an object, preventing any sort of harm at all.

● Water-Resistance:

Businesses like car washing involve the use of water. For such businesses, water resistance matters the most. Furthermore, many commercial garage door openers are offered with water-resistant features.

These features allow you to continue your daily operations with peace of mind that your opener is safe from water damage.

● Building Ventilation:

Keeping your doors closed may be a priority for safety or blocking out noise. But it can make ventilation in your building difficult. Many business owners opt for commercial garage door openers with mid-stop features.

Such features can help you keep your doors open to a degree you would want. This way, you can maximize ventilation in your surroundings without the need to keep your doors completely open.

To Summarize

Selecting the right commercial garage door opener is important for your business. It helps you ensure smooth operations in your business premises. You can even personalize the door opener to align with your business requirements.

Furthermore, the abovementioned features are the ones that you need to look out for while looking for such door openers. This will help you ensure that you have the right machinery to ensure smooth entry and exit for your staff, customers, and important objects for your business.