When it comes to covering the “last mile” of the trip from a producer to a retailer, trucking is the transport method of choice by an overwhelming margin. Tens of thousands of tons of goods move from farms, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities to customers every day. A significant amount of that freight involves cargo that must remain refrigerated to stay fresh. Fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat products all require special trucks to ensure they can arrive safely at their destination. For operators of refrigerated trucking fleets, maintaining the right temperature is always a challenge. By and large, though, the built-in air conditioning systems do their jobs just fine. That is, at least until it’s time to load or unload product.

The Problem: Temperatures Spike During Load Operations

When a driver unlocks the rear hatch and opens the door to the refrigerated compartment, the physics of thermodynamics immediately begin to come into play. Hot air from the outside will begin to flow into the trailer, displacing the cold air. If left open long enough, the temperature will climb steadily towards the ambient outdoor level. When a truck must make multiple deliveries from the same load of cargo, this temperature spike can have the potential to impact product quality when left unchecked. Even when the change is not so severe, it will still result in an additional load on the truck’s air conditioning equipment.

Ultimately, that strain both increases wear and tear on critical equipment while also affecting fuel consumption. Both represent very real costs for any transport logistics company. Combined with the risk of possible product spoilage resulting in losses for both supplier and purchaser, and it’s clear that some kind of solution is a necessity. Among the most common are strip curtains — plastic strips which hang down from the back of the truck, acting as a physical barrier to slow the movement of air between inside and outside the compartment.

Strip curtains are not an ineffective solution, but they do come with several drawbacks. First and foremost, the plastic strips become dirty and clouded quickly; cleaning them is not an easy task and adds one more item to the truck’s maintenance list. As one might imagine, dirt and grime hanging on plastic sheets near food products is not ideal. Strip curtains also obstruct the view to the outside for those working inside the truck. Passing through the curtain onto the loading ramp can be a safety risk in such conditions, especially during busy operations. These concerns merit the consideration of another option altogether.

The Solution: How Air Curtains Make a Difference

Slim profile air curtains, installed at the top of the entrance to the refrigerated compartment of the truck, are the ideal solution. The operating principles are remarkably simple: using an electric motor, the curtain sucks in air from outside the truck. This air is then forced through a special array of tubes which creates “laminar flow,” or a sheet of air that moves with a uniform speed and direction. This flowing sheet of air is strong enough to create a barrier between the top and bottom of the compartment while remaining pleasantly gentle to those passing through while loading.

Activated once the doors roll up, the air curtain will continue operating throughout the entire load/unload operation. The air barrier it creates seals off the interior, allowing only a very small amount of warm exterior air to enter. Likewise, the loss of cold air is kept to a minimum. Fluctuations in temperature become easier for equipment to handle and control without overly taxing the refrigeration systems. Alongside keeping cold air in, air curtains will also keep small flying insects out — an essential attribute for better hygiene inside the truck.

This hardware is easy to install for most refrigerated trucks and typically requires little maintenance, owing to their simple mode of operation. Cleaning is easy as well — a regular dusting using compressed air will keep the flow strong. Thanks to their long hours of dependable operation, refrigerated truckers can realize savings by investing in air curtains.

Determining How to Outfit Your Trucks with This Technology

Making the switch to this technology can yield savings, improvements in convenience, and even safer daily operations. With that in mind, what do you need to consider to take the next steps in investigating this option? Choosing a reliable supplier should be your first step.

At Air Door Distributors, we bring years of experience to the table along with an in-depth understanding of air curtains and how to make them work best across all kinds of industries. For trucks, the sizing of air curtains is especially important. Our trained and professional staff can aid you in working through the options available and how they will fit into your budget. To find out more about how we can assist you in achieving improved conditions in refrigerated trucks, contact us today.

Does it ever seem as though no matter where you look, there’s always something making outlandish or exaggerated claims about what their product can accomplish? There are apps pitched as the silver bullet to productivity problems, hardware that only iterates slightly on previous versions, and no end to the amount of marketing puffery that follows. Given that, it’s natural to approach any broad claims no matter the product.

If you operate a restaurant, warehouse, or even an office building, energy costs and equipment wear are always a concern. Perhaps you’ve heard about air curtains, or at least the claims that they can be a big help in saving on energy. Are air curtains as effective as people say they are, and do they actually work as described?

How It’s Supposed to Work: Air Curtain Operation

A quick primer on what an air curtain does is essential to understanding the facts. The claim is simple: air curtains keep conditioned air inside and hot exterior air outside where it should remain, generating savings on energy. The hardware creates this barrier by pulling in air, compressing it to increase its speed, and directing it to the floor in a continuous stream. It’s this invisible “curtain” that keeps air from escaping, as it cannot easily flow through the air stream. What air does move into the stream quickly reaches the floor. Some seeps back inside, while other air exits; the net effect is ideally negligible.

So, do they really work? The answer is a clear “yes” — and the numbers don’t lie. Consider one case study assembled by Berner International, a leading manufacturer of air curtains, which looked at the impact of air curtains positioned over fast food restaurant walk-in coolers. After one week, the restaurants observed a reduction of nearly two hours in the amount of time the refrigerator’s compressor operated. Extrapolated out to a year, this improvement saves more than 100 hours of operational time. Less wear and tear means fewer emergencies when a walk-in breaks, and fewer funds expended on maintenance and repairs.

More importantly, however, the installation translates into real-world savings, too. The reduced operating time works out to an energy savings of approximately $450 each year. Not only do these savings ensure that any investment in an air curtain sees a return without delay, but it also means these units practically pay for themselves in no time at all.

These units perform well when covering doorways for even very large buildings as well. Maintaining a stable indoor climate has typically been the job of vestibules, but air curtains today are recognized as a very viable alternative to additional structural enhancements. In another case study, a large convention center in Chicago chose to install Berner air curtains over all the entrances into the building. With frequent events and long periods when many or all the facility’s doors remain open, climate control was a difficult challenge. With the air curtains in place, interior temperatures easily remained in the correct range — and generated projected annuals savings in excess of $70,000. Based on those numbers, it’s safe to say that air curtains do work to save energy.

Air Curtains Do More Than Control Temperature

There is another important claim to address about air curtain operation — that they can keep out small flying insects, unpleasant odors, and even dust. Thinking about it, this would make sense. The stream of air must be strong enough to reach the ground, but not enough to disrupt those walking inside. While it won’t bother a person, that gentle stream is a rushing river of air to something as small as a mosquito or a fly. Likewise, the air will push down any dust floating inward. What does the evidence say about these claims, though?

Again, real-world efforts prove that the claims are not an exaggeration. Berner supplied air curtains to a restaurant that featured large doors which opened to allow for a free flow of space from the interior dining room to the exterior. Health inspectors noted that too many flying insects were entering the restaurant. After putting air curtains in place, inspectors were satisfied to find that no significant insect activity was still ongoing indoors. As an additional bonus, the restaurant gained the ability to leave the doors open all the time — enticing even more visitors to come and have a meal.

Exploring Air Curtains for Your Purposes

With clear advantages and a host of practical examples showcasing that air curtains really do have the benefits manufacturers claim, these units can make a difference in all kinds of applications. Are you curious about what a curtain could offer your business? At Air Door Distributors, we are your direct link to the leading hardware on the market today. Combined with the advice that you may need to choose the correct size and type of curtain, you’ll find it’s a straightforward path to saving energy, improving comfort, and developing a more hygienic space. To discuss your air curtain requirements with a dedicated professional today, reach out to us by calling us at 866-402-1642 or filling out our online contact form.

When asked to name the place where you’re most likely to encounter an air curtain, most people might say a restaurant, or perhaps a convenience store or another small retail shop. However, that is far from the only application in which air curtains can prove useful. For medical establishments such as hospitals, air curtains can provide a host of benefits and find a home in many places around the premises. From the doors at the emergency room to interior hallways near the kitchen or the loading docks, the smart placement of the right air curtains can make a big difference. Consider some of the ways in which air curtains can contribute to a better atmosphere inside the hospital while also presenting the opportunity for savings.

Keep Vehicle Fumes Out of Waiting Rooms

Maintaining a calm, welcoming environment as much as possible is an essential task in any hospital reception room, but especially for emergency rooms. Even when separated by a small vestibule, it’s very likely that odors from the outside will make their way into the interior space. With vehicles such as ambulances likely idling nearby, exhaust can enter the building. Not only unpleasant to smell, but it could also be a potential irritant and a health hazard, which is true even when the ER has a separate loading and unloading area for ambulances to use. With an air curtain, blocking out these odors and keeping them outside where they belong is easy. Consider placing a unit on all exterior-facing exits.

Improve Comfort for Staff and Patients

While air curtains can keep noxious fumes away, they can also help to keep the interior space more comfortable. With people entering and exiting the building with a very high frequency, air is continuously rushing to and fro, playing havoc with climate control efforts. Left unchecked, this can impact more than the overall temperature of the space. It can also mean the creation of extreme temperature zones.

For example, consider the reception desk, which may sit directly in front of the doors. In the winter, staff working at the front desk may be repeatedly subjected to cold blasts of air as patients enter the building. Others sitting near the doors will feel it, too. Because an air curtain prevents this air from rushing inward as people enter, more even heating and cooling is possible. Every spot becomes comfortable, instead of only a select few.

Use Air Curtains on Interior Doors to Control Odors

Keeping fumes out of the ER is not the only way air curtains can provide options for odor control in a hospital. Consider the kitchen area of the building, which must prepare hundreds of meals daily in a highly sanitary environment. At the same time, it may not be desirable for the smells of cooking and food preparation to waft through the hallways, potentially reaching patients. Air curtains keep these odors inside the kitchen, while also keeping flying insects and dust away. Air curtains provide the creation of a more secure environment for food preparation, while also preventing any unwanted interactions. In other areas where dust control is important, such as in rooms with sensitive equipment, air curtains can deliver the same great functionality there, too.

Reap the Benefits of Energy Savings Year-Round

While there are many physical benefits to the installation of air curtains, energy savings represent perhaps the biggest single advantage they offer. By keeping the air you’ve already paid to heat or cool inside the building instead of sneaking out the door, your organization does not have to pay repeatedly for the electricity it takes to maintain the temperature. With so many hospitals operating on increasingly tight budgets, finding any opportunity to cut costs without reducing services or comfort levels is worth the effort. Air curtains represent an extremely cost-effective investment in that regard. With low levels of long-term maintenance and fewer repair costs for your existing HVAC systems, the units pay for themselves quickly. Afterward, your organization can enjoy pure savings.

Take the Time for a More In-Depth Consideration

With a look at all the ways air curtains can prove useful in a hospital environment, it should be clear that they are one of the best options for climate control assistance, odor control, and much more. Understanding the benefits and working to unlock them are two different things, however. At Air Door Distributors, we are well-positioned to assist medical operations of all sizes with their needs in this area. With access to a broad range of air curtains with many feature options, all sourced from top manufacturers including Berner, tapping into these benefits for your organization is simple and straightforward. To find out more about what it takes to put air curtains into your building, contact us today.

Cold storage is a vital asset to many businesses, whether it is on the scale of a large warehouse or down to the level of a walk-in freezer in a busy restaurant. Keeping temperature sensitive products at the right level to maintain quality and food safety shouldn’t be difficult, but operating efficient cold storage can be a challenge, especially if storage spaces see a large amount of traffic in and out each day. One of the best ways to take control of efficiency and safety in cold storage is with an air curtain. However, before considering how air curtains can help you achieve better results in cold storage, it can be helpful to think about the biggest issues that these critical spaces often encounter.

Common Challenges Faced in Cold Storage Operation

Temperature fluctuations are far and away the most pressing concern in any cold storage system. Stability is essential for energy efficiency and the proper storage of the products in the room. For food operations that require strict temperature control to promote aging or other natural processes for products, extreme variations are unacceptable. However, these changes are a common problem.

Fluctuations can also lead to wear and tear on cooling equipment that must work long hours through frequent cycles to keep the product sufficiently chilled. Over time, this boosts the risk of a sudden breakdown and the subsequent problems it would create. Avoiding the consequences of an emergency requires increasing temperature stability and reducing operational time.

There are other issues, too: the humidity introduced into the freezer spaces as staff enter and exit can cause problems on its own. Fogging and misting are problematic, for example, because it can settle onto products and potentially promote mold or mildew. Icing can occur, too, and can be especially dangerous to your staff. Icing that occurs near the door, for example, can melt when the door frequently opens in a short period. A staff member could slip and fall as a result. Mitigating these problems with an air curtain can be the right choice.

The Benefits Your Operation Experiences from Air Curtains

Air curtains address each of these problems in turn. Their operational principle is simple: using a uniform sheet of air at a sufficient velocity, the curtain separates the warmer exterior spaces from the colder interior zones. This action works to minimize the amount of interaction between the two spaces, reducing the heat exchanged and mitigating in large part any potential rise in temperature. The difference may be in tenths of a degree with an air curtain — so small as to have no impact on your product, and unlikely to require additional cycles.

That means, of course, that your cooling equipment will be able to last longer between maintenance periods (assuming good condition in the first place). Not only are you able to save money on energy costs, but on upkeep as well. An air curtain makes it simpler to focus on long-term stability for cold storage operations.

Finally, an air curtain’s ability to separate two spaces also means that humid air is not rushing in behind employees, which reduces the amount of mist created in the space and helps to ensure that icing conditions rarely develop. A safer, more reliable cold storage unit is just one air curtain away.

How Air Curtains Fit into Your Premises

So how do you take advantage of these changes? Air curtains are typically easy to install and do not have extensive space requirements for these smaller scale applications. Sizing an air curtain requires measurement of the space above the walk-in door and the space from the installation point to the floor. A reputable supplier can assist you in this process to ensure a proper fit. Achieving the proper flow from the unit is an essential part of correct operation, and professional installation is recommended.

Keep in mind that curtains can find a home in other places around your building, too. Curtains covering exterior doors can help maintain the building’s thermal profile more effectively, for example. Even curtains leading into the rooms around cold storage areas can be useful. By reducing the potential for infiltration by dirt, dust, and small flying insects, creating and maintaining an even more hygienic environment is within easy reach. Since all air curtains can deliver these results, businesses have broad freedom to choose solutions that offer the right combination of value, performance, and convenience.

Choosing a Professional Partner to Explore Your Options

For cold storage setups that aren’t performing at the appropriate level of efficiency, air curtains can offer a flexible and beneficial way to solve the problem. Not only can they help save more money in terms of your monthly energy expenditures, but they can lead to better operating conditions in the cold storage spaces themselves. As you explore these options, a key factor in the success of an air curtain installation project is the right supplier.

At Air Door Distributors, we proudly use many years of hands-on experience in the air curtain sector to guide our clients towards the best solutions. From personalized advice delivered by pros to the ability to access air curtains in virtually any size or configuration you need, overhauling your operation’s approach to cold storage is easier than you might think. To find out how we can help you make these improvements, reach out now.

Every day, customers around the world enjoy the ability to enter their favorite shops, find their preferred products, and go home happy with their purchase. To get to that point, though, requires a massive amount of effort across large supply chains. All that work eventually ends up in one place: the loading dock at your warehouse or place of business. Here, you don’t have to worry about transporting products over long distances anymore. Instead, the focus is on running an efficient operation that controls costs while making products ready for sale.

When trucks arrive to receive or drop off shipments, the staff on duty must open large loading dock doors to gain access to the transport container. This exposure to the outdoors can mean many loading docks are seasonally very hot or very cold, while also allowing climate controlled interior air to rush out. The effect is twofold: the working environment may be uncomfortable, and your facility’s energy usage spikes during truck operations. Both can have costly impacts on your business, reducing productivity and increasing expenditures on electricity.

The loss of energy wastage is not a problem with no viable solution, though it is easy to view it that way. Instead, the installation of air curtains can prove to be a game changer for any business that regularly operates a loading dock. Similar to the hardware you might encounter at the entrance to a grocery store or a restaurant, loading dock air curtains lend their industrial power and heavy-duty reliability to help you save money. Why are they so useful, and how can an operation benefit from them?

What Loading Dock Air Curtains Achieve in Operation

When a loading area’s doors are in the down position, the area can have quite a pleasant atmosphere as it takes advantage of the heating and cooling provided by the building’s systems. When those doors open as trucks arrive, though, it doesn’t take long before all that air has escaped outside, replaced with hot, humid air in the summer or chilly breezes in the winter. Air curtains act as a physical barrier covering the open doors to restrict this process as much as possible.

Using a motor to power an air pump, air curtains suck in ambient air and use special nozzles to project the air downward. These currents rush from the curtain to the floor fast enough to form a continuous stream of air — a “curtain” that prevents almost all mixing. Only at the very bottom of a curtain will some temperature changes occur. With the ability to operate as long as the doors remain open for the truck, this hardware allows facilities managers to gain much greater control over the climate on the loading dock.

Lowering Power Bills and Keeping Staff Comfortable

With air curtains in operation, HVAC systems face reduced demand. Less air loss means that the interior space can retain a stable temperature more efficiently, which in turn means spending less each month keeping the area from reaching extremes. Industrial-strength units intended for loading docks feature durable construction from high-quality materials due to the high level of performance demanded of them throughout their lifespan. That means energy efficiency is a built-in feature, too. The result is that you can more easily save money on energy expenditures. While you already benefit by reducing the need to replace lost air, efficient air curtains ensure that you are not simply shifting the cost from one area to another.

Staff often find working around air curtains to be very beneficial as well. In very hot or very cold loading docks, worker efficiency and productivity can suffer as the weather takes its toll. In the summer, regular air curtains keep staff cool even as they do labor-intensive work, allowing them to take fewer breaks and complete the task with haste. Heated air curtains in the winter ensure that staff do not need to bundle up indoors, either. As an additional benefit, air curtains can help to prevent truck exhaust from entering the building by gently blowing it back outside.

Finding the Appropriate Hardware is a Straightforward Task

So, you’ve decided that these units might be of value to your operation. Now what? Air curtain installation is a typically straightforward task, even for larger areas such as loading docks. According to leading manufacturer Berner, there are even ways to approach securing air curtains to rolling dock doors — allowing all kinds of warehousing setups to enjoy a more stable interior environment when working on trucks. Once you’ve decided to explore options in this area, a reliable partner in the search is crucial.

Air Door Distributors provides a direct connection to industry leading air curtains, allowing your business to take full advantage of their abilities. From boosting employee morale to finding more room in the budget for more mission-critical tasks, enhancing your climate control capabilities with this hardware is a smart choice. For more information on how to size and select air curtains for your operation, or to discuss the purchasing process, please contact us today for prompt, professional help.

In food service, commercial food production, and even agriculture, freezers play a critical role in safe, successful operations — just as much as walk-in refrigerators, if not more so. With efficient freezers, long-term cold storage is a cost-effective proposition that allows you to keep products stable and ready for use without short-term concerns about spoilage. However, the key word here is “efficient.” Because freezers must maintain such low temperatures, any warm air that enters the freezer creates an imbalance that requires a correction.

In storage areas that are only occasionally accessed, this may not be much of an issue. In restaurants and other operations where products are placed in or removed from the freezer multiple times a day (or even each hour), freezer units must work overtime to keep the product chilled. As a result, the equipment experiences wear and tear at a much higher rate while also consuming far more electricity than a well-insulated freezer that only needs to work occasionally to maintain the temperature. If a freezer goes down, it can be an emergency — so finding ways to mitigate that risk and ensure the longevity of your units is essential.

Freezer door air curtains offer the most effective solution to this problem in one compact package. Sometimes used to help keep restaurant patrons more comfortable in dining areas with doors that frequently open outside, air curtains can lend their usefulness to freezer applications as well. No matter the size of the freezer or the number of separate freezer doors you must cover, air curtains can help you save money, preserve products, and follow a more predictable maintenance scheme. How?

Why Air Curtains Help Freezers Stay Cold

The best place to start for an answer to that question is with a quick refresher in high school physics: heat always wants to spread to zones of lower energy. In other words, hot air will always seek to displace cold air. You may not even think of the air outside the freezer as “hot” — to you, it’s just room temperature. However, as soon as the freezer door opens, that air will tend to flow into the cooled space due to the stark difference. During busy times, the door may be left open to facilitate quick unloading of product to the regular refrigerator. The result is a severe rise in the interior temperature of the freezer and correspondingly longer cooling cycle times.

An air curtain, placed above the entrance to the freezer and set up to automatically activate when the door opens, helps to halt this process. Using a sheet of air that exhibits “laminar flow,” which means the air currents all travel in a uniform direction, the unit effectively divides the inside and outside spaces with an invisible wall. This stream of air forces any warm air trying to infiltrate the space to the floor and minimizes the exchange. Likewise, cold air from inside the freezer has a more difficult time escaping when the air curtain runs. The result is a vastly reduced impact on temperature stability and a freezer that can maintain its efficiency with greater ease.

Common Problems You’ll Avoid with an Air Curtain

Alongside reducing the rate at which your freezer consumes energy throughout the year, air curtains help to tackle other common problems. For example, consider the previous example concerning leaving the door open for loading and unloading the freezer. With an air curtain running, staff can accomplish this task without subjecting other items to unnecessary temperature abuse. The result is a smoother, safer workflow that does not have a negative impact.

Air curtains have secondary benefits aside from helping drive down energy usage and prolonging the life of your freezer equipment; they can also help keep the interior of the cold storage space cleaner. The same air stream that keeps hot air from reaching your stock will also prevent airborne debris such as dust from entering the freezer, helping to reduce maintenance and cleaning needs and fostering a more hygienic food storage area that can largely be left alone. For freezers located near the back of house exterior doors, air curtains can also help to prevent flying insects, such as common flies, from finding their way into the space.

Securing the Appropriate Air Curtains for Your Business

A quick look at the many benefits air curtains can bring to business when installed over freezer doors reveals their inherent value. As a cost-effective solution, they have no equal in terms of the ability to safeguard your investment and keep mission-critical equipment such as freezers ready for action day after day. It’s worth noting, however, that they can find many other applications throughout your space as well, such as over exterior doors, walk-in refrigerators, and other areas. Each of these use cases allows you to manage the energy consumption of your business better — especially because air curtains use comparatively little electricity next to air conditioners and furnaces.

Sizing an air curtain for freezer doors correctly is simple; your core focus will be to provide adequate coverage for the entire width of the door, ensuring that there are no gaps from which air can leak or escape to ensure a good “seal.” The height from the floor also plays an important role, as it will determine how powerful a curtain you require. Shorter heights need less power; taller doors require stronger motors to allow the air to reach the floor at the correct speed and pressure. Using professional assistance can make the task of sizing your hardware much more straightforward.

At Air Door Distributors, we combine years of industry experience with an extensive catalog of hardware produced by leaders such as Mars and Berner to offer our clients unparalleled access to this technology. With our assistance, sizing equipment and determining the best options for installation are easy. To discover the appropriate size air curtain for your walk-in freezer and to uncover more information, please reach out to our team today.

Making any change to your business, especially one that involves adding new hardware, requires careful consideration. That includes not only looking at how you might benefit from the alterations, but also examining the logistics of installation. When you are considering adding one or more air curtains to your business, whether it’s a shipping depot, a retail store, or an office building, this is especially important. The proper functionality of an air curtain depends heavily not only on the way it’s installed, but on choosing the correct model in the first place. In other words, you need to know how to size air curtains for your use case.

How does that work? There are many types of air curtains out there on the market, with all kinds of different features and specifications. How different is a unit intended for use in retail or restaurant applications versus one meant for warehouse doors? Answering questions like that is fundamental to figuring out how to make the smartest purchase for the company. While it can seem daunting at first, choosing an air curtain of the appropriate size isn’t hard — once you know what to look for in your search.

Consider the Application You Have in Mind

Air curtains are not a “one size fits all” type of hardware. Instead, their effectiveness depends heavily on selecting them with a particular use in mind. To answer the question posed above, air curtains for restaurants and warehouses are vastly different. The principle of operation is the same, of course, but the latter requires a longer curtain, a stronger motor, and a more complicated mounting. Restaurant curtains are smaller, more compact, and often much quieter.

That leads us to the first issue of appropriately sizing air curtains. Narrow your search by eliminating all the products that would not work well in your situation. Zero in on low- or high-capacity output curtains designed for your space in particular.

Take Measurements of the Targeted Space

An understanding of the space you’ll need to cover with the air curtain can help you to slim down the number of choices you have. Measure not only the width of the door itself but the amount of space you have above the door and on either side of it. Air curtains don’t conform precisely to the door’s dimensions; instead, there is some overrun on both sides for internal hardware and to ensure a clean, unbroken sheet of air reaches the floor. For larger applications such as warehouses, you may also need to take measurements for additional hardware, such as blower motors, that help to power the curtain during regular operation. Use these as the basis for making comparisons as you shop.

Apply Measurements to Choosing Air Curtains with Correct Specifications

The physical size of a curtain is only one aspect of “sizing” hardware for your business. The actual performance characteristics of the unit are critical as well. “Sizing” a curtain also involves choosing components that can generate an appropriate level of force to achieve proper separation between the spaces the curtain divides. Consider that a warehouse curtain, mounted high above the ground, must propel the air at a much higher initial velocity for it to reach the floor at a gentle flow that won’t bother people. You don’t want to blow away your guests in a retail shop, either; carefully examine the specifications for each curtain to select one with appropriate speed.

Consult with Professionals for More Complex Spaces

Other challenges also influence curtain selection. For example, rooms with multiple doors that may open and close at various times create a complex air pressure setup, which can influence the effectiveness of curtains in operation if you don’t make careful selections, or even consider multiple curtains. Untangling this puzzle can be a challenge, but with professional assistance, it can become much easier. Consider consulting with a reputable supplier as you work to size and source items such as air curtains for your business. Not only can they assist you in understanding how to select curtains by air velocity, but they can also provide you with insight into tackling potentially complicated installations as well.

While it is true that there are many factors to consider as you endeavor to locate the right air curtain, it’s not a process you have to navigate alone. At Air Door Distributors, we’re happy to lend our clients access to our expert understanding of this technology and its many applications. Not only can we assist you by discussing factors more specific to your business, but we have an extensive product catalog that makes it simple to procure the ideal model once identified. To get the ball rolling and move one step closer to harnessing the benefits of air curtains for your business, give us a call or send an email today.

In the pursuit for success, a restaurant can often benefit from every edge it can manage to find. Whether it’s connecting with a competitive supplier or having a unique selling point to attract customers, it’s all part of the effort to generate consistent sales. Sometimes, though, finding the next area of improvement requires thinking outside the box. Instead of focusing solely on the big picture, why not consider the following basic yet fundamental question: how comfortable are your customers?

Maintaining the right indoor temperature can be challenging, especially in restaurants that see a high volume of foot traffic; the constant flow of patrons through the door means that air is always rushing both ways. Open doors can lead to a space that’s too warm during the summer and too cold in the winter, even with HVAC systems running. There’s good news, however — there’s a solution to the problem that “just works:” the air curtain. How can installing one help your restaurant?

Keep Outside Intrusions from Bothering Patrons

Ask any restaurant patron what influences their enjoyment of an establishment the most, and many will give you a similar answer. After the quality of food, the next most important factor is ambiance. In other words, when people come to patronize your business, they want to step through the door to be transported away from life outside. The experience of getting comfortable, enjoying friendly company, and dining on good food is best when there is nothing to disturb the setting.

When new patrons enter, though, the open door can allow them to bring along distracting intrusions. These can include flying insects such as mosquitoes and unpleasant odors from parking lots or nearby roads. Dust and debris can come in as well. With an air curtain dividing interior and exterior with a smooth stream of air, though, you can drastically reduce these disturbances and allow other guests to remain focused on their meals.

Improve Customer Comfort All Year Round

Another critical component to restaurant ambiance is the real atmosphere inside the space, that is, the temperature and humidity. A robust HVAC system is key to maintaining a pleasant environment where guests are neither too hot nor too cold. However, as mentioned above, foot traffic and frequent movement from the outdoors can force your heating or cooling systems to work harder all the time just to contend with the loss of conditioned air. The result can be a dining room that feels stuffy in the summer and a little too chilly in the winter — especially for patrons seated near front doors.

Again, air curtains offer a practical solution to this problem. The same air stream that keeps out flying insects also keeps air where it belongs: inside. The right curtain helps to minimize the amount of air movement between temperature zones, so your cold (or warm) air stays in the dining room while only a small amount of outside air enters near the floor. The result is more consistent climate control and happier patrons.

Push Energy Costs Down Even in Summer

Caring for your customers is always worth an investment, but air curtains can actually help your business save money at the same time as they improve customer experiences. Consider the scenario outlined above, where your restaurant always faces a temperature imbalance. This imbalance causes your HVAC systems to work overtime, driving up energy costs and increasing wear and tear. Unlike cooks on the line, you can’t plead with your AC to stay on through the rush; if it breaks, it breaks.

Both situations represent frustrating financial impacts to the business. Here, too, air curtains can come to the rescue. The same effect that allows customers to remain comfortable also means your unit must work much less to maintain the same temperature. That cuts down on energy usage and maintenance costs at the same time. Even in winter, air curtains that use a heater can help to maintain indoor air temperatures at a fraction of the cost of running your furnace at full blast throughout the entire season.

Making an Investment for Your Restaurant’s Future

With the ability to access and harness these benefits for your restaurant, you can seize the potential to find more opportunities for growth. Long-term success can often hinge on decisions you make early in the process. When you consider how an air curtain can help to save on heating and cooling costs throughout the year while delivering other perks, the value they represent to your establishment should be clear.

At Air Door Distributors, our team is ready to help you identify and source the most suitable air curtain for your restaurant. With in-depth industry experience that informs our ability to deliver superior service, we look forward to helping you tap into this technology. To find out more about choosing the appropriate hardware and the ordering process, contact us today.

Are you ready to take advantage of everything an air curtain can offer to your business? Great. From generating energy savings to keeping dust, odors, or flying insects out of an interior space, there are many excellent reasons to add one to a building. Perhaps you’ve already selected the precise piece of hardware you’ll need for your structure, or maybe you want to develop a sense of the entire process before you begin a decision-making effort. Either way, proper installation of a new air curtain is just as important as making the right selection in the first place. Ultimately, it can have a bearing on how effectively the unit operates in its new home. So, who is it that actually handles this process, and what is essential to know about air curtain installation?

Suppliers and Installers Are Typically Different

The business from which you choose to purchase an air curtain will rarely be the same company that provides you with installation services. Because each unit comes with detailed instructions and parameters for installation, manufacturers and others typically assume that the end user will take on the responsibility for arranging installation. In other words, if you were expecting to find an “all in one” package deal, it might be time to reconsider while making other arrangements for installation. This separation can help to keep operating costs for suppliers lower, however, savings which can then be passed on to consumers like you.

However, that doesn’t mean that suppliers have no role to play in installation. Your supplier may be able to help point you in the right direction for your locale, for example. More importantly, a supplier can assist you in understanding how to navigate some of the challenges you may face. For example, there may be obstructions in the location you’d like to place a new curtain. How can you make it all work? Your supplier can give you tips to keep in mind before commencing installation.

Air Curtains Aren’t a DIY Job

So, does this mean that you should prepare to dig out the old toolbox, read up on the new manual, and start trying to tackle the process of installation on your own? No — in fact, doing so could be dangerous and may risk rendering the unit less efficient in operation. Many steps go into installation, from taking careful measurements to understanding how to work around challenges in the environment.

More importantly, some steps in installation absolutely demand the presence of a professional. Consider the amount of new wiring that may be necessary to operate an air curtain if there is currently no easily accessible source of power in its chosen location. Likewise, internal wiring will need to be installed and connected safely. Anyone other than a licensed electrician should never perform this work. Not only is that the safest way to power up your curtain and ensure it is ready to go, but it also allows you to trust that the installation can stand the test of time.

With that in mind, choosing someone who can handle the entire process becomes more critical. A general contractor, perhaps one that already works for your business on a regular basis, is likely to have some experience with hardware installation like this. Explore your options with a contractor if one is available to you, and share installation documentation for a clear discussion on expectations and requirements.

However, HVAC professionals can often supply you with their services in this area, too. Since air curtains could technically be considered a type of “ventilation” equipment, you will find many HVAC companies who understand this technology and what you hope to achieve through its use. Even better: most air conditioning companies will have licensed electricians on staff or on call, since so much of their work also requires working closely with power lines and wiring setups. When it comes to particularly challenging installation scenarios, HVAC pros may be the preferable choice when compared to a general contractor.

Achieving a Successful Air Curtain Installation

Working with licensed and experienced pros is important, but understanding how to coordinate with them on proper installation is a vital step, too. The instructions supplied along with the unit should be followed very carefully; turning to the manufacturer or supplier can be most helpful with addressing any questions or concerns that may arise during the process. Installers should keep in mind that your curtain will need a sufficient amount of accessible air to operate correctly, just as they should take care when positioning the curtain.

Proper positioning is essential for maximum operational efficiency; otherwise, air will be able to continue leaking out of climate controlled spaces at the bottom or the sides of the curtain. Consult with your electrician to ensure power can reach the area where operation will work best, then coordinate with your HVAC team or general contractor to execute installation with precision.

Start the Process by Finding the Right Hardware

By developing a better understanding of how the air curtain installation process works, you can prepare to locate a partner that will meet your business’s needs and leave you with functional new equipment. Reaching that point must start somewhere, though; have you settled on an air curtain to suit your purposes yet? At Air Door Distributors, we combine years of experience in this industry with access to a wide range of products developed by leaders such as Berner and Mars to create the ideal experience. Whether you need help locating the right hardware or you have questions about how to implement certain types of installations, you can reach out to our team for friendly advice.

For just about any business, effective climate control is an integral part of creating comfort for staff or patrons while managing energy costs from month to month. In buildings where doors frequently open and close, staying on top of the strain such activity places on your HVAC systems can be a challenge. Have you recently begun considering the benefits of installing air curtains over these entrances and exit points? By using the invisible power of fast-moving air to divide climate zones and keep cold or warm air masses where they belong, you can achieve better indoor conditions while reducing consumption and wear and tear. Now comes the next step—selecting an air curtain for your business.

How should you go about this process? Which curtains are right for you, and how do you know when a product is a good fit for your business? The good news is there is a simple process one can follow to determine what hardware will represent the best investment. As you consider how to choose air curtains, keep the following tips and tricks in mind.

Know Your Application

The location you plan to use your air curtain is perhaps the most critical factor in choosing one — and not just concerning the location of the target door in your building. Instead, we mean the type of business. Restaurants, warehouses, office buildings, cold storage units — each of these applications demand a different type of air curtain, and a unit suitable for one purpose may not work well for another. Before you begin a more in-depth exploration of the available options, take the time to develop a clearer understanding of your use case.

For example, an air curtain that will only need to operate a few times daily over a small, regular door will be much different than a warm-air unit intended for use over a large front door during the winter season. Perhaps you are looking for warehouse door air curtains instead? What you choose will depend on whether it’s a loading bay door or an internal opening. As you begin to explore product options, use this information as a basic way to begin narrowing down your choices.

Determine the Right Size for the Application

For air curtains, “size” is not just necessarily a matter of physical size, that is, the length of an opening that it must effectively cover. It can also refer to the power of the unit itself. The motor in the unit determines how much air it can push downward and how fast, which governs how well the unit can divide two spaces. Consider two scenarios. The owner wishes to keep conditioned air inside the building while also ensuring that flying insects cannot enter the interior dining space.

A basic unit is likely all they need for effective coverage; relatively low air velocities are still effective at stopping insects. In a warehouse, however, a much more powerful air curtain will be needed to achieve the same effect on a loading dock. The unit will need to push out far more air at a much higher speed. So, what can we take away from this? Carefully examine the velocity limits of each unit and consult with a professional to determine what “size” air curtain you’ll need.

Consider Complicating Factors

Do you only need one air curtain — or do you need a setup with multiple units? This question is tricky to answer when shopping for this type of hardware. Solving it involves considering the number of doors in a space and how often each one opens to the exterior. In our restaurant example, only one door is likely, perhaps two if the owner wishes to cover the back door as well. In spaces with a large volume of air and doors that open more frequently, you may need to look for more powerful or versatile units. Just as considering the type of space is essential, so too is looking at the actual layout of the room.

Decide on Any Additional Features

Air curtains can be an important tool for catering to our desire for creature comforts wherever we visit. To that end, some extra features may be important to you. The ability to heat the air blowing through the curtain is one of the biggest additional features you’ll find. Not only useful for keeping eatery patrons warm in the winter, but heated air curtains can also help keep workers in indoor/outdoor spaces more comfortable and productive. During your search, take the opportunity to consider whether you need features such as heating, and allow that choice to help further guide your selection process.

Partner with a Reputable Supplier

Finally, it’s crucial to be able to find the right air curtain after you’ve identified the major factors influencing the decision. Choosing the right air curtain is just as much a function of working with a good supplier as it is selecting the appropriate hardware. The right partner brings several things to the table, not the least of which is professional advice. This guidance can prove essential when you encounter a challenging situation, such as an oversize doorway to cover or a complex air profile.

Navigating the air curtain options available to your business should be an easy, straightforward process that results in the procurement of the ideal equipment. With all the tips above in mind, the only thing left to do is to make a connection with a reliable partner. At Air Door Distributors, we bring years of experience in this field to bear for our clients. By providing an extensive and varied selection of air curtains suitable for all kinds of purposes over openings small and large, we hope to help our clients take full advantage of the improvements offered by the hardware. To learn more about what you can achieve with air curtains or for guidance on selecting the right model, please contact us today at (866) 402-1642 or fill out our online contact form.