The opener with a battery backup is the top of the line model regardless of brand name and all those bells and whistles come with it. You must have a lot of power outages to consider this for a one car garage. You will more than likely be replacing the battery every 4 or 5 years and that is with good luck and battery prices have gone through the ceiling.

OK, what you said makes sense. So it sounds like I should just look for a good quality 1/2 hp belt-driven opener, and not worry about the battery back-up.

That is what I would do. If noise isn't a problem I would even go with the chain drive. It should lift a one car garage door for a long time with no problems.

Noise is a concern, so I am narrowing my choices down to belt-driven only. It looks like the Liftmaster 3280 1/2 hp gets good reviews. I understand I could buy the Chamberlain similar model as a DIY installation. However, I am going to hire someone to install. Does anyone know what it would cost, ballpark, for the installation of the 3280 including the cost of the opener itself? All the electrical connections are there, so I won't need electrical work.

Following up my previous posts, I just got a quote from a reputable installer for $425 to provide and install the Liftmaster 3280. They specified that the price includes a 1-piece operator rail for a 7' high door, new safety sensors, wall control, 2nd remote and a keypad. Does this price sound average?

I think that is very high. I just looked and Sears sells the Chamberlain 1/2 horse belt drive with the same accessories for $199.00. That doesn't include installation. Chamberlain is the company that makes Liftmaster. At that price they are charging $250.00 for installation. Too much.