A garage door opener is an electrical device that automatically opens and shuts garage doors automatically controlled by switches installed on the garage wall. Most also come with a small handheld radio control carried by the individual, which is used to open and shut the door manually from a distance. Garage door openers are operated through the walls of the garage. Garage doors are designed to roll up into a sleeve form after they have been closed, to allow easy access to the interior of the garage. Garage door openers have several advantages over manually operating garage gates.

Garage door openers are controlled by a torsion bar mounted on the outside edge of the garage door opener shaft. The torsion spring mechanism holds the motor in a fixed position either above or below the garage doors. This mechanism provides a tension force that works on the torsion spring. Due to the torsion spring action, the motor is in constant balance so that it cannot be moved by any outside force.

The other major component of a garage door opener is the power unit. This part consists of a compressor and condenser. The compressor supplies a continuous flow of pressurized gas to the condenser, which in turn recharges the battery. The condenser is responsible for storing the power charge in a battery. The electrical power is supplied to the motor, which then sends the power to the trolley that carries the motor. It is the trolley that delivers the power to the garage door opener motor.

An important advantage of owning a remote controlled garage door opener, apart from its automatic opening and closing feature, is that it offers safety to the operator. Garage doors are heavy; hence they need to be opened manually. For this purpose, it is often a good idea to use a manual motor, especially when lifting heavy steel or wood doors. However, this manual power is not enough to lift all the doors at once.

Manual garage openers can malfunction for many reasons. The most common reason is that the chain is not properly attached to the pulley. Even if the chain is properly attached, the motor might still fail to start. Also, the trolley might be stuck halfway along the track. A chain that is not properly attached to the pulley, a loosely attached chain or a stuck trolley can all lead to the failure of a remote control garage opener. Also, both of these problems need to be rectified before the opener will again function.

Another important part of a garage door opener is an extension kit. Extensions are used for additional convenience and efficiency of operation. Garage doors are generally of varying widths and opening them manually can be a very time-consuming process. By using a quality extension kit, the process of opening many doors at one time will be made faster and more efficient.