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How Much Does It Cost to Run a Garage Door Opener in Australia? (2026)
A garage door opener runs for about 15 seconds per cycle, so the motor uses almost nothing. Its standby draw of 3 to 8 watts, waiting for the remote, is the real cost.
A typical garage door opener (500 W) costs A$0.17 per hour, or about A$0.10 per month at 0.02 hours a day in Australia. Cheap to run
| Wattage | Per hour | Per day | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low (300 W) | A$0.10 | A$0.002 | A$0.063 | A$0.77 |
| Typical (500 W) | A$0.17 | A$0.003 | A$0.10 | A$1.28 |
| High (800 W) | A$0.28 | A$0.006 | A$0.17 | A$2.04 |
Formula: watts ÷ 1000 × hours × price per kWh. Typical use is 0.02 h/day ≈ 4 kWh per year.
In Australia, with electricity at A$0.35 per kWh (source: AER Default Market Offer 2026–27, 2026-07), a typical garage door opener costs A$0.17 per hour and about A$1.28 per year at 0.02 hours a day. Each A$1.00 of electricity buys roughly 5.7 hours of use.
How to lower the cost of running a garage door opener
- Choose an opener with a low standby rating when replacing.
- Replace the incandescent bulbs in the opener with LED.
- Nothing else. The motor cost is negligible.
In standby it draws about 5 W, which adds roughly 44 kWh (A$15.33) per year if it is never unplugged.
Frequently asked questions
How much electricity does a garage door opener use?
Around 30 to 70 kWh a year, nearly all of it standby.
Does a garage door opener use power when idle?
Yes, 3 to 8 watts continuously.
How much does one open and close cost?
A fraction of a cent. Fifteen seconds at 500 watts is 0.002 kWh.
Cost by region
- United States (average)
- California
- Texas
- New York
- Florida
- Canada (average)
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- France
- Australia
- India