Improving Your Company Environment with Commercial Air Curtains & Doors

Air doors allow for a simple return on your investment by paying for themselves in as little as two years through energy-cost savings. They help to protect your openings from unwanted flying insects and dust, ultimately creating a more sanitary and comfortable working environment. Commercial Air curtains also increase the safety and comfort of your employees and customers by allowing for easy, free access in and out of the building.

Energy Saving Benefits: The noticeable energy-savings that accompany air doors are oftentimes the most important reason to consider this product. Whether you work in a commercial or an industrial setting, saving money is always important. Air curtains provide a thermal barrier, reducing the infiltration of the outdoor environment inside. During the cold months, they keep the frigid air from penetrating the heated inside by minimizing cold drafts and circulating warm air from the ceiling. During the hotter months of the year, circulating air eliminates humidity and hot-spots from building up indoors by keeping the heat outdoors.

Protection from Pests: Commercial Air curtains also help to create a healthier and comfortable work environment by reducing the infiltration of insects, dust and contaminated air that can come in from outdoors. This is especially important in stores that have food or other consumables. The strong stream of air that is generated acts as an excellent deterrent. Installing an air doorway in your store entrance and dock area helps restrict the permeation of these unwanted elements.

Ease of Access: Air doors allow for easy access in or out of the building. From shipping and receiving docks to freezers, kitchens, and even the main entrance, air curtains can take away the need for swinging or sliding doors. This helps decrease the potential hazards that accompany doorways in major establishments, especially with heavy traffic flow. By providing a clear view through the entrance way, they reduce the risk of an employee, vendor, or customer accident, as well as providing the convenience of quick and easy traffic flow without the cost of expensive energy bills due to sliding doors. 

The Efficiency of Increasing Heated Air Curtain Air Stream

Air curtain applications that were barely imaginable 10 years ago are being created as a result of a deluge of recent technological advancements.

From more efficient electric heaters to manufacturing improvements advancements have ranged that now extend lengths up to 16 feet. Earlier the air curtains with explosion and spark-proof components for hazardous industrial locations. Now they are standardized catalog items. Once, for industrial shipping doors these were energy-saving devices. Now air curtains for restaurants are also available. These are embraced by hotels, retailers, food service operators as tools for saving energy, eliminating flying insect infiltration, and increasing employee air comfort.

To separate indoor and outdoor environments the air curtains are typically mounted inside the top of a doorway, continually discharging a steady stream of air down to the threshold. From infiltrating an open doorway during winter or summer, the air stream keeps unwanted cold or hot air,respectively. For employees,they also keep out flying insects and maintain a comfortable working environment.

The Venturi style: The Venturi style heater is one of the new technological advancements. For decades air doors have offered electric heating coil options; however, the laminar flow is disrupted by their traditional mounting in the air stream, that’s critical to its efficacy. Air stream efficiency can be cut down up to 40 percent with such an obstructing placement. Furthermore, air curtain’s all-important volume, velocity, and uniformity (VVU), which is critical for maintaining an air seal across the entire doorway for ultimate efficacy is disrupted by electric heater placements in the air stream.

Besides in the discharge air, at the inlet screen where air is drawn into the air curtain, electric heaters have also been mounted. As the air curtain enclosure itself becomes heated, it’s less energy-efficient, while this positioning doesn’t affect discharge. Radiated through the cabinet that doesn’t reach the targeted area, this causes up to a wasteful 5 percent heat loss.

Essentially, the heating element is on the incoming side versus the discharge end of the fan/blower. Electrically-heated air doors with no discharge obstruction, is result of the Venturi effect heater. Thus nearly 100 percent of the airstream’s aerodynamic potential is achieved by the air curtains.

Choosing the Right Air Curtain for Your Establishment

Whether it’s a commercial establishment or an industrial house, air curtains are the best option to maintain a conditioned interior. It creates an invisible barrier of air over doorways to effectively separate two different environments. There is no limitation to the movement of people or large vehicles in case a warehouse. High quality commercial air curtains are capable of decreasing cooling and heating costs up to 80%. Similarly, these curtains protect internal climate and increases the comfort level of employees by keeping the interior atmosphere clean.

Choosing the right air door: Location is the primary aspect of choosing a perfect air curtain. You need to decide the type of curtain according to the size of the doorway and application. You have to consider where you’ll be using the unit. Do you want to use it on the front entryway, back loading area, or drive-thru? Different air doors serve different purposes and applications.

Popular uses:

Air doors for service entrances: It is quite difficult to restrict the polluted air and insects in large service entryways. If you want to seal the larger openings, doors designed for backdoor and industrial applications are perfect. These doors have stronger motor power that restricts annoying pests and outdoor fumes.

Air doors for entryways: For entryways, you have to consider your climate and how it affects your interior environment. Light weight and in-ceiling mounted units are ideal for getting top-notch performance. If you are located in a cold location, consider buying a heated air curtain that neutralizes extreme cold temperatures.

Air doors for drive thru: Drive-thru air curtains can do a great for you by blocking out undesirables and helping you run a functional service window. These curtains or doors are quiet and don’t interfere while taking orders. For smaller service openings, choose compact design that fits better.