Proper climate control is a necessity rather than a luxury for a wide variety of industries and businesses, and keeping the interiors of your buildings temperate using air conditioning and heating systems can be vital for productivity. However, keeping your business properly climate controlled can be particularly difficult if doors and entrances are commonly or constantly opened, allowing unconditioned air from outside to affect internal temperatures and humidity levels. This is where the humble air curtain can be a real boon for your business.
What is an air curtain?
Air curtains are also referred to as 'air doors' and are generally placed over doors and gates leading in and out of your business premises. They use powerful blowers and downward-facing fans to create a barrier of fast moving air between the air inside and outside of your business premises.
This barrier of moving air prevents the ready exchange of air and heat between the interior and exterior portions of your business, keeping warm buildings warm in winter and cool buildings cool in summer. The air barrier also prevents airborne contaminants, such as pollution and pollen, from entering the building via the entrances protected by air curtains.
What are the advantages of integrating air curtains into your HVAC system?
Air curtains can be very useful pieces of equipment, and are most effective when used in conjunction with the rest of your business's HVAC system. They have the following advantages that can benefit almost any business:
Lower climate control bills: With heat exchange controlled by the barrier of air created by your air curtain(s), your heaters and air conditioners will have to work far less hard to keep the interior of your business at a tolerable temperature. This can lead to dramatic savings when it comes to paying your energy consumption bills. Air curtains are particularly useful when used over doors that are generally kept open, such as busy warehouse entrance gates and the front doors of retail businesses.
Lower carbon footprint: Despite their efficiency, all but the largest and most powerful air curtain models are quite energy efficient, and the energy costs of running them are generally eclipsed by the substantially reduced energy needs of your HVAC system. This can significantly lower your business's carbon footprint and is particularly desirable for businesses boasting green or organic credentials.
Reduced air contamination: As previously mentioned, air curtains also help to prevent airborne contamination from infiltrating your business premises. This is a particularly useful quality when installed over doors to cool rooms, chemical processing centres and other areas where airborne contamination must be kept to a minimum.
Adjustable air flow: The velocity of the air that makes up an air curtain can be adjusted for different purposes; high-velocity air curtains are useful for industrial premises where efficiency is most important, while lower velocities can be used over entrances to commercial businesses, where customer comfort must be prioritised.
Share5 April 2017
Hello, my name is Richard and I own a medium-sized industrial unit in Sydney, Australia. I only started the business a few months ago, so I am not a professional in any sense of the word. Before I could set the business going, I had to kit out the new factory with equipment. I didn't have a clue where to source the best equipment or how to get the best deal. Thankfully, my brother-in-law is worked in manufacturing for many years. He came along with me when we viewed the equipment and got me the very best stuff. I decided to start this blog to help others who are just starting out.