There are many types of garage doors, but besides style, one of the important considerations when choosing one is the power requirement. The material and mechanism of your garage door will dictate how much energy you need to power up the door.
Electric garage doors are incredibly useful and convenient. They open the garage for you to park your car with just a single click. But the catch, as the name implies, is they use electricity. But that’s not even it, because garage doors are always on. They burn power, even when they are “off.”
Here’s a quick guide to garage door power requirements.
How Much Power in Watts Does a Garage Door Use?
The most common garage door openers have ¼ or ½ horsepower motor, which requires anywhere between 550 to 725 watts to run.
On average, conventional garage doors only take around 10 seconds to open or close. Meaning, you’re most likely using your garage door a few minutes per day, an hour max. So, taking into account the wattage and the several minutes of using your garage door each day, that doesn’t sound too terrible.
But here’s the catch: Garage doors still burn power on standby mode.
That’s what you call the “Phantom Loads.” Anything that has you can control with a remote has to stay active unless you unplug it. Like the garage door, it may be switched off, but it still requires power consumption, and that’s what costs you a lot of money.
How Much Power Does a Garage Door Use on Standby Mode?
On average, the garage doors on passive standby mode consume 5-watts. That may not look significant, but considering that your garage door is on standby mode for at least 23 hours (minus the 1-hour max running time) per day, it can easily add up to your monthly electric bill.
Sample Calculation:
For a garage door that requires 550 watts:
- Running Mode: 550 watts x 1 minute x 4 openings/day = 0.037 kWh/day
- Standby Mode: 5 watts x 23 hours/day = 0.115 kWh/day
It shows that your garage door can take three times more electricity when it is on standby mode than when it works for a couple of minutes per day.
Another consideration when it comes to power consumption is the type of garage door you have as well as its size. Naturally, if you are using heavier doors like those made of steel or wood, they require significantly more running power.
½ HP Garage Door Openers
One-half horsepower openers are the most cost-effective option, and they are well-known for their smooth and quiet operation. This type is best recommended for residential use, suitable for a heavier single garage door or an average-weight double door. It also works for garage doors made of lighter materials like aluminum and fiberglass.
¾ HP Garage Door Openers
A three-fourth horsepower garage door opener is more suitable for significantly heavy doors, like double-car garage doors made of wood or steel. This way, you can reduce the strain on the motor while lifting heavier and bulkier doors.
How Many Amps Needed for a Garage Door Opener?
It depends on the power required to run the garage door. For a typical garage door opener that requires 500 watts, the power you need is just a little more than 4-Amps.
You can use this Amps Calculator to get calculations if you know the power (in watts) for your garage door.
How to Save on Garage Door Power Consumption?
There isn’t a lot you can do to reduce your garage door opener’s power consumption unless you opt-out of using an automatic garage door altogether.
But if installing a garage door is not negotiable, get a newer model. They are usually designed to reduce power consumption by one to five watts during standby mode, which would help you save on monthly electric bills.
