When you’re in a rush to get to work on time or hurrying to get back inside the house when you’re caught in the rain, it can feel like your garage door takes an age to open and close. This might not just be down to impatience, though. Not all garage doors open and close at the same rate, and a slow opening door could indicate a problem with your garage door or its opener.
What determines the speed of your garage door?
Your garage door opener is the main cause of the speed at which your garage door opens. The size of your garage door opener’s motor and the amount of horsepower it has plays a part in how quickly or slowly your door opens. On average, a residential garage door opens at a rate of approximately 7 inches per second.
There are high-speed garage door openers that allow your garage door to open more quickly, but these are typically only used for commercial garages in order to improve productivity and save time. These are much more expensive to account for the extra power.
Your residential garage door opener is likely to have more than one speed setting, though. By default, this is typically set to the lowest speed setting when you purchase and install it. Look for a speed setting switch on the side of your opener and set it to a higher speed if you feel that your garage door is opening too slowly.
Another determiner of speed is whether you have a DC or AC motor. Garage doors operated by AC motors tend to open at a constant speed whereas DC motors may cause your garage door to move slowly at the beginning and end of its opening cycle, while speeding up slightly in the middle.
Why is my garage door opening slowly?
If your garage door starts to open and/or close more slowly than usual, then there could be a problem with one or more of the parts involved in the opening and closing mechanism. This may simply be down to the age of your door and the regular wear and tear that comes with everyday use.
Try applying a lubricant to the moving parts of your garage door to help it run more smoothly. You should do this on a regular basis to help prevent excessive wear and tear to these moving parts. If this doesn’t increase the opening speed, then it’s a good idea to call a professional technician to perform a garage door tune-up. They’ll be able to identify if any problems are causing the door to slow down.
If a maintenance issue is not causing your garage door to open slowly, then you might need to invest in a new, more powerful garage door opener to help improve your door’s opening speed.
If you need maintenance or repair for your garage door or its opener, then contact Carolina Garage Door for our support.