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by Tom What size electrical breaker do I need for a garage door opener? ANSWER: That seems like a simple question with a simple answer, but a discussion of garage door opener electrical requirements involves a number of factors. Breaker Size The breaker size depends on the type of garage door opener you have and how many you have. If you have a 1 car garage, a 15 Amp circuit is more than adequate. If you have a 3 car garage with three openers you may want to consider a 20 Amp circuit breaker. Here are the details: Most modern garage door openers draw from 3 to 5 amps, depending on what type of lighting your opener has. If your opener has a 200 Watt lighting system, for example, the lights alone will draw just under 2 Amps. Amps x Volts = Watts. Thus, Watts / Volts = Amps. So, 200 Watts / 120 Volts = 1.67 Amps for a 200 Watt lighting system. How many watts is a garage door opener? Most garage door openers use from 350 to 600 Watts, with the average at about 500 Watts. At 500 Watts, the power needed is just over 4 amps. Here’s the math: Since Amps x Volts = Watts, then Watts / Volts = Amps. So, 500 Watts / 120 Volts = 4.17 Amps. Now that we know the garage door opener draws about 4 Amps and the lights draw less than 2 Amps, we know the total draw is less than 6 Amps for one opener. So, a 15 Amp dedicated circuit would be more than adequate for a 6 Amp draw. If you have a 3 car garage with 3 garage door openers, here is what you could expect: 3 openers x 4 Amps = 12 Amps for the opener PLUS 3 lights x 1.67 Amps = 5 Amps for the lights. Keep in mind these numbers are at the high end of the average. When planning an electrical circuit, the circuit load should be 80% of maximum. Thus, 80% of 15 Amps = 12 Amps and 80% of 20 Amps = 16 Amps. So, 3 garage door openers with 200 Watts of light running simultaneously would draw up to 17 Amps. While this slightly exceeds the 16 Amp maximum for a 20 Amps circuit, it is VERY unlikely you will ever have all 3 openers running at the same time. Bottom Line: If you have the option, my recommendation is a dedicated 20 Amp circuit for 3 garage door openers. For 1 or 2 openers, a 15 Amp circuit. NOTE: If you have a modern DC garage door opener, they require a fraction of the power used by an AC powered model. Does the circuit breaker for your garage door opener have to be dedicated? As of this writing the National Electric Code (NEC) does not require a separate circuit for garage door openers, but it is common on newer homes, especially if you have more than one opener. Electrical code requires a separate circuit for many appliances, e.g., dishwasher, microwave, etc. However, garage door openers are not on the (current) list. Often they are even on the garage lighting circuit. Check your local building code to be sure. Does the breaker for the garage door opener have to be GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) protected? Generally, no. While modern electrical code requires all garage outlets to be GFCI protected, ceiling outlets are not “readily accessible,” like wall plugs. Consequently, most would agree that the ceiling plug does not require GFCI protection. Again, check with your local building code and building inspector. Other Garage Door Opener Electrical Requirements Grounding – Although the receptacle may not need to be GFCI protected, it DOES need to be grounded. Check any garage door opener manual and you will see the requirement for a grounded receptacle. If your home has older wiring and ungrounded outlets, do not use a converter from 3 prongs to 2. The plug on your garage door opener has 3 pins, including one grounding pin. If your outlet does not accommodate the third pin, a new outlet must be installed. Call your electrician to help. Do not use a 3 pin to 2 pin adapter. And, do not use an extension cord. Hard Wiring – Check your local electrical code to see if permanent wiring (“hard-wiring”) is needed, although this is not common. Outlets – If you don’t have an outlet accessible to the opener, have one installed. Most, but not all modern homes have outlets installed in the ceiling. If you are installing a new garage door opener, have an outlet installed. |
