Do Garage Outlets Require 20 Amps? (Everything You Need To Know)

What a garage door is running on, how it can be changed, and what amps it needs to operate may seem complicated but it’s really not. The NEC (National Electric Code) keeps things pretty clear from the get-go while also allowing some breathing room for other circumstances.

The NEC states that the garage has to have a dedicated, 20A circuit for anything in the garage. However, that doesn’t mean that a garage door opener has to run on a 20A circuit. A single circuit is more than capable of handling everything in a garage unless you are bringing in some serious hardware.

That means that your garage door opener is most likely on a 20A circuit (if you live in a newer home) but a garage door opener will generally require anywhere between 3A and 5A to operate, so it would obviously be plenty capable of running a 15A breaker.

Are There Garage Door Openers That Run on a 15A Circuit?

There certainly are, since the NEC only updated their code in terms of garages requiring a 20A circuit. That code was released in 2017 so that means that there are probably a lot of houses out there that have garages running on 15A circuits.

Prior to 2017, the NEC didn’t specify garages in their 20A recommendations. In fact, the only rooms that were required to have a 20A circuit were bathrooms, laundry rooms, and kitchens.

In some older homes, you will find that although the washer and dryer receptacles are located in the garage, they are both tied to their own circuit. It’s easy enough to test as well, especially if your circuit breaker is well labeled.

Simply cut the breaker to the washer and dryer and see if the rest of the garage goes off as well. You can go around and plug in a smartphone charger or something similar to see if any of the outlets have current.

If your home has no garage, then there is nothing to worry about. But, if you ever decide to build a new garage onto your home or even one that is not directly connected to your home, you will have to supply a 20A, 120V circuit for the garage so that it will comply with the 2017 NEC.

Does the Garage Door Opener Require a Dedicated Circuit?

Your garage door opener does not require its own, dedicated circuit to operate. The reality is, that a garage door opener doesn’t require an immense amount of power, so it is perfectly comfortable and compatible tied into the circuit that is dedicated to the entire garage.

You would have to be running several, power-hungry devices at once before engaging the garage door opener to trip the breaker, even if it is on a 15A circuit. The 20A circuit that is now required, according to NEC, is only allowed to run the receptacles in the garage.

For example, the lighting in the garage cannot be tied into the same circuit, which is why we suggested running around and plugging your smartphone into the outlets rather than depending on the lights going out or not to determine if the washer and dryer are on the same circuit.

Inside the garage, there has to be a minimum of one light switch, according to NEC, although there can be more, so long as they are not on the same circuit as the garage outlets. You could keep it simple by using a three-way switch between the garage door entrance and the exit opposite the entrance.

GFCI protection is also something that is required in a garage, while AFCI is not, at least not yet.

Can You Tie a New Garage Door Opener Into a 15A Circuit?

The good thing about the new NEC rules is that everything built prior to 2017 is exempt. Of course, it has to be that way, otherwise, everyone would be spending thousands of dollars every time someone responsible for NEC updates sneezed.

If you live in an older home, you can certainly have a new garage door opener installed and tied into a 15A circuit, because the rules don’t apply to adding new devices. The rules only apply to homes manufactured after 2017.

If you hire someone to come in and install your garage door opener, which is a reasonable request if you have no outlet on the ceiling, they will probably tie it into the circuit that already runs your garage.

Are There Exceptions?

There are, but only when you are dealing with the manufacturer. It’s important to look hard at what the manufacturer says about their garage door opener before you fork over the money for it.

There are some garage door openers available where the manufacturer insists that the garage door opener be installed on a 20A circuit. It may be that the type of opener that they offer uses more power than others.

Regardless, if you purchase one and it is required to run on a 20A circuit, it will run on a 15A but you will probably void the warranty if anything goes wrong with it down the line. If you hire an installer, most reputable installation technicians would flat out refuse if you wanted them to install a 20A required garage door opener on your 15A circuit.

If the product does not specify whether or not it needs to be tied into a 20A circuit, then you are free to put it on a 15A circuit if you want to. The reality is, it’s not going to operate any differently, regardless of which one.

If you are installing a garage door opener in your workshop, you’re going to want to put it on a 20A if at all possible, since you are going to be drawing more power on that circuit than is usual in a garage setting.

All Things Considered

Fifty years from now, almost all garage door openers will run on 20A circuits and it will be the rare, seriously antique home that does not. While garage door openers do not require 20A, the NEC does, at least in homes constructed after 2017.

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Do Garage Outlets Require 20 Amps? (Everything You Need To Know)