Have you been thinking about installing an air curtain (or a series of air curtains) at your business? Air curtains are a good investment that can yield a slew of different benefits. If you are just beginning to research air curtain or air door solutions, though, you might not be fully aware of why these devices are becoming so popular in so many commercial and industrial settings. Here are five core facts to know about air curtains before you start shopping.

1. Air curtains are multi-functional

Most businesses choose air curtains because of one or two of their advertised benefits. Businesses in the food service industry, for instance, might be interested in the ability of an air curtain to provide a barrier against insects, dust, debris, fumes, and other impurities that might impact sanitation. Restaurants or retail store owners, meanwhile, are often drawn to air curtains because they make it easier to maintain stable interior temperatures even when patrons are constantly going in or out an exterior door. The best thing about air curtains is that it provides all these benefits and more. From energy savings and temperature stability to cleanliness and sanitation, all air curtains can serve multiple functions at once.

2. Air curtains are a fitting substitute for vestibules

Vestibules can provide many of the same benefits of air curtains. They serve as a buffer between the outside world and the interior of a commercial building, thereby keeping out cold drafts, fumes, dust, and other unwanted impurities. Indeed, vestibules are so effective for these purposes that they have previously been required on certain commercial buildings by both the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and the International Green Construction Code (IgCC). The problem with vestibules is that they take up a considerable amount of space and are expensive to build. Air curtains are a low-cost alternative to vestibules and have been recognized as such by both the IECC and the IgCC. In other words, commercial buildings that would have been required to have vestibules in the past can now get by with air curtains instead.

3. Air curtains come in an array of different sizes, styles, and designs

As you might imagine, air curtains are not a one-size-fits-all technology. On the contrary, air curtains and air doors are available in a wide range of sizes, styles, and designs. There are air curtains available for standard-sized door openings. There are also air curtains intended for drive-thru windows, garage doors, or loading dock doors, and even walk-in coolers or freezers. Every door or window opening requires a curtain that matches its length or width and has enough power to propel a stream of air across the entire opening. Fortunately, the air curtain market is broad enough to meet the needs of any business. As for design and style, some business owners want their air curtains to blend into the overall architectural style of the space. For instance, in a fancy restaurant, an industrial-looking air curtain might be a mood killer. There are sleeker and more incognito models available for settings where aesthetics matter.

4. Air curtains can save your business energy and money

We already mentioned that one of the major draws of air curtains is their energy-saving capability. By limiting heat transfer and maintaining interior temperature—both in the summer and winter—air curtains can provide valuable support to your HVAC system. More stable temperatures mean your heating or air conditioning system isn’t working so hard to keep climate at thermostat level. In turn, these systems aren’t using as much energy— savings that you will notice on your business’s monthly utility bills. How much energy savings can an air curtain provide, you may ask? The answer depends on your business and where you are planning to use the air curtain. However, studies have shown that air curtains can cut a company’s energy usage by more than 30 percent. Some major air curtain brands, such as Berner, even have calculators on their website to help customers estimate their likely energy savings. 

5. Air curtains offer quiet operation

One of the biggest worries that business owners have about air curtains is that they will be noisy and distracting. Indeed, air curtains create a little bit of sound when generating the flow of air that covers open doors or windows. However, this technology has advanced to the point where most brands offer products boasting “whisper quiet” operation. In most cases, an air curtain won’t create more noise than your heater or air conditioner does whenever it activates. The exceptions—the louder air curtains—are mostly used for industrial applications, such as in factories or warehouses. In these settings, the noise is usually less of a problem than it would be in a smaller or more intimate space, like in a bar or restaurant.

Are you interested in installing an air curtain or air door at your business? At Air Door Distributors, we carry a wide variety of products from the top air curtain manufacturers in the world. To learn more about our product range, or to get recommendations about which air curtain is best for your purposes, call us today at 866-402-1642.

How does your business use technology to attain its goals? Every company does, whether we’re talking about the point of sale systems in a retail store or the walk-in refrigerators in a restaurant. From high-tech to low-tech, businesses rely on a myriad assortment of devices and appliances every day. Some have a bigger impact on operations than others — such as your heating and cooling systems. Essential as they for comfort, they also cost money to run. Cooling costs can constitute a substantial portion of a business’s annual energy expenses. So, what can you do to get them under control?

Perhaps you’ve heard that air curtains are one solution. Mounted above a door, the concept is simple: each time the door opens, the air curtain turns on to create an invisible separation between the outside and the indoors. Over time, the reasoning goes, this can help to save a substantial amount in energy costs. How can be that be, though? At first, it might seem counter-intuitive. Aren’t you also paying for the electricity it takes to operate the curtain? Doesn’t that add up, especially if the door opens very frequently? It can seem that way, but a more in-depth look at the details tells the real story. Looking at what’s actually going on here is the best place to start.

What Happens When a Door Opens?

On its face, this question might seem absurdly simple. Consider this, though: every time a patron or employee opens an exterior door and comes inside, a portion of the air-conditioned air inside the building will rush out due to both the potential difference in air pressure between the exterior and interior alongside the natural flow of air with a temperature difference. Cold air rushes outward near the bottom of the door, while hotter air seeps indoors from the top regardless of whether it’s your front door or the door to a walk-in freezer.

In other words, every time the door opens, you lose money. That cold air must be replaced somehow, which means your HVAC system’s cycle time will decrease as it works overtime to keep the space at the appropriate temperature. It could be that without a better way to retain the interior temperature, your energy bills are unnecessarily high. That’s where an air curtain comes into the picture. Using this technology, you can almost entirely stop that exchange, keeping cold air where it belongs: in your business.

How Air Curtains Mitigate Temperature Changes

So, what really happens when an air curtain mounted over a door activates? While it might not feel special as you walk through it, the air flow rushing towards the ground is quite unique. That’s because it exhibits something known as “laminar flow.” This scientific term is really just a fancy way of saying that the air current is completely aligned in one direction; there’s no turbulent side-to-side mixing. The result is a very coherent “sheet” of air calibrated to flow with a velocity strong enough to keep the air on either side of the curtain from moving outward.

It’s this physical separation that reduces both outside air infiltration and the loss of an interior space’s cooled air. According to Berner, an air curtain manufacturer, the right unit can reduce infiltration by up to 80%. That means your HVAC systems faces a much lighter burden, and with less air escaping, it doesn’t need to work as hard to keep your space comfortable.

The Long-Term Benefits of Using an Air Curtain

Air curtains aren’t just for restaurant and cooler doors, either; they’re perfect for many applications. From large office buildings to warehouses and industrial spaces, this technology can cut energy costs and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time. In one Berner case study, a major convention center in Chicago was able to generate annual savings valued at a whopping $70,000 after installing large air curtains over the facility’s loading dock doors. Many other case studies bear out the same truth and even demonstrate that the savings can extend to the wintertime when indoor heating is in use.

Not only can such savings pay for the equipment rapidly, but operational costs are low over the lifespans of each unit. Maintenance needs are low, with an infrequent need for repairs, and the energy required to run the air curtain is far smaller than what an HVAC system requires. Alongside serving as a tool for cost-cutting, curtains come with plenty of ancillary benefits, too, from reducing dust infiltration to blocking flying pests such as mosquitoes from entering the premises.

With successful use cases in an innumerable amount of location, air curtains can be a business’s best bet when it comes to driving down utility costs. While it may not necessarily mean the difference between a profit and a loss, better controlling your cooling costs can provide much-needed budgetary space or just some comfortable breathing room. Achieving the desired effect with an air curtain, though, does require making the right choice among the products available on the market.

At Air Door Distributors, we have a wealth of experience and an array of industry-leading products ready to help your company retake control of its energy spending. To explore which air curtains would work best for your business or to learn more about their operation, please reach out to our team today.

No matter what type of business you run, almost any commercial building can benefit from the installation of air curtains. From restaurants to warehouses, the benefits are applicable to everyone: saving money by reducing energy consumption, keeping interior spaces more comfortable, stopping flying insects, and more. Whether it’s a general all-purpose solution you need for a front door, or a more specialized piece of hardware for a walk-in refrigerator or an interior warehouse door, choosing the right air curtain makes all the difference.

With that in mind, one of the most important things to consider as you look at air curtains for your business is the size of the unit. In other words, how big and how powerful does it need to be in order to maximize performance? Too small, and you won’t get the climate zone separation you want. Too large, and you risk creating an uncomfortable wall of air patrons must walk through, or you could end up consuming more energy than you save. So how do you appropriately size an air curtain for your application? There are several factors to consider.

Location Matters Most for Sizing

Far and away the most important thing to consider is where you will place the air curtain, or in other words, what type of door it will cover. Something for use in a small cafe, for example, is going to be drastically different than a unit for use in even a bigger restaurant, to say nothing of industrial applications. Start by considering your purpose and taking some initial measurements, such as the height of the door and its width. Consider how much room you have for the equipment itself. Many air curtains are very compact, but larger units require more space to operate. Remember that you will need a space slightly wider than the width of the door itself. Precise dimensions for air curtains are easy to access and can allow you to develop a sense of how much room you have to utilize.

Speaking of operational space, air curtains draw in ambient air to create their barrier of separation — that means you’ll need room for the intake, too. A high-velocity air curtain in a small space will struggle to achieve full coverage as it lacks access to a sufficiently large volume of air. As you consider the placement of your air curtains, don’t forget to consider that factor as well. Manufacturers and distributors can assist you with specific volumetric numbers and calculations to determine the usable air in your space.

What Level of Air Velocity is Appropriate?

Physical space may be important for actually getting the curtain into place, but once it’s there, operation is just as important. To function correctly, air curtains must direct air downward at a velocity strong enough to reach the ground. Otherwise, air or dust infiltration can still occur easily, defeating the purpose of the device. However, as mentioned, you do not want the air to be too strong; instead, it should always feel gentle to those entering. In small-scale applications, as in restaurants, the correct velocity can usually be around 15 feet per second. That’s about 10 miles per hour, or no stronger than the breeze you might encounter on a slightly windy day — perfect for keeping out flies without disturbing visitors.

In warehouses and other large-scale commercial applications, especially where the curtain must be positioned high above the floor, it is acceptable to use much higher air velocities, up to 50 feet per second or more. Keep in mind this is the velocity “at the nozzle,” or as it exits the unit. The airflow will slow down as it reaches the floor, so there are no concerns about warehouse staff briefly experiencing a gale force wind in the midst of the workday. Determining the right velocity for your space necessitates a closer look at the specifics.

Other Important Characteristics to Keep in Mind

As you work to choose an air curtain, don’t forget that the shape of the space will have an impact on the unit’s performance. Additional entrances/exits into the space, or a larger pressure difference between the interior and exterior, can complicate matters. Both of these can cause an air curtain otherwise correctly sized to function sub-optimally. For complex spaces, you may require a larger air curtain — or multiple units — to compensate for the issues that can occur. Likewise, how frequently the doors the units cover open should also come into play. Curtains that must operate semi-continuously will face different demands than a unit that only turns on briefly a few times an hour.

Seeking Professional Help to Size an Air Curtain

Ultimately, the best way to ensure that you acquire an air curtain suitable for your operational requirements is to enlist experienced professional help. Not only can a pro help you work through questions and concerns you may have about these machines, but they can also help you to determine the right solution based on your building’s setup. For example, rooms with multiple doors and a complex climate control scenario can become much easier to navigate when you have trusted advice informing your next move.

Taking advantage of all the benefits offered by air curtains should be an option available to every business. Take the next steps in determining how you can reduce energy costs and improve comfort with an appropriately sized air curtain. For assistance, answers to your questions, and access to industry-leading products contact Air Door Distributors today.

For virtually any business, at least one facet of an air curtain installation will appeal. Air curtains assist in temperature moderation, reduce heating and cooling costs, prevent insects and dust from making their way into your building, and keep smelly fumes outside. Their benefits can provide simple comforts or be instrumental in meeting sanitary guidelines. If there’s a single worry that businesses have about adopting air curtains or air doors, though, it might be volume.

Air Curtain Noise: Why It Is a Concern

Perhaps a quiet, relaxing environment is crucial to the atmosphere you are trying to cultivate with your business. Alternatively, maybe you operate a bar or restaurant that is already loud most of the time, and you want to avoid introducing extra white noise into the equation. Either way, the volume of an air curtain might concern you. After all, air curtains function by generating a downward flow of air that covers the opening of a door, window, or garage area. This air flow needs to be powerful enough to extend over the entire doorway.

Considering how much noise fans or air conditioning systems can make, it’s not surprising that some business proprietors are worried about air curtain noise. A loud air curtain would be especially distracting since most air doors only switch on intermittently when someone opens a door or window. Surely you don’t want a loud air stream interrupting everyone’s conversations or activities every time a door opens.

The Truth: What to Expect from Air Curtains Regarding Sound

The good news is that air curtains, in the vast majority of situations, are not loud at all. Air curtain manufacturers understand that volume is a concern for their customers and have taken steps to improve their technologies and eliminate distracting or irritating noise from the equation. Many air curtain companies have even started developing and marketing “whisper quiet” air door systems.

So how loud are air curtains, exactly? The answer depends on the size, type, and brand of the air curtain in question. However, on average, you can expect a sound output of between 40 and 50 decibels. For reference, 40 decibels is roughly the level of noise you would expect to hear in a library, while 50 decibels is the same volume as you’d find in a quiet suburban neighborhood. 60 decibels, meanwhile, is the volume at which most normal conversations take place. In other words, you don’t need to fret about an air door interrupting conversations between your employees or patrons.

Of course, just as there are “whisper quiet” air curtains on the market, there are also air doors that produce a bit more noise. In particular, large commercial or industrial air curtains are going to produce more noise—usually because they are being used to create air barriers over larger spaces. An air curtain that is covering a garage door opening in an industrial warehouse has a lot more work to do to create an effective barrier than an air curtain over a standard-sized door in a restaurant or retail establishment. Since these air curtains need to work harder and require a bit more power, they also produce more noise.

However, since these larger, louder air curtains are typically situated in larger spaces with higher ceilings, the noise dissipates more easily. As a result, even “loud” air curtains often don’t seem that loud when installed in the appropriate settings. A plant, warehouse, or factory is also probably going to be a considerably loud environment than a small office or retail store, which means that noise from the air curtain is probably less of a factor anyway.

Using Noise to Monitor the Health of Your Air Curtain

With air curtains, excessive noise can also be a sign of diminishing performance or a technical problem. If you notice that your air curtain has become louder over time, there’s probably something wrong with it. Monitor noise as a benchmark of air curtain condition and seek inspections or repairs for your units if they start producing more sound than they should.

Being vigilant about cleaning your air curtain devices on a regular basis can prevent the kind of wear and tear that leads to noisier performance. Often, air curtains grow louder over time because the motor is working harder than it used to work. Usually, a louder motor is the result of dust accumulation in the air curtain. As dust builds up, the device needs to work that much harder to create a stream of air at the correct volume and pressure. Dust buildup can also impact the performance of an air curtain and make it less effective at creating a complete barrier against pests, cold or warm air, dust, or fumes.

For these reasons, it is wise to clean your air curtains on a regular basis. Using a dust cloth to remove dust from the air curtain installation once a week or so will help prevent dust buildup, preserve strong performance, and keep the device quiet and unobtrusive. Of course, dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning the rest of your business regularly will also protect your air curtain by reducing the amount of dust and debris in the air.

Get Help Finding a Quiet Air Door Solution

If you are shopping for an air curtain or air door solution but are concerned about volume, get in touch with our team at Air Door Distributors today. We would be happy to help you find the quietest air door possible to suit your needs. As discussed above, though, you can typically expect any modern air curtain product to offer quiet performance.

Even today, the logistics of transporting goods from one location to another are challenging and involve careful coordination. Shipping cargo via air is expensive — so for both long haul and “last mile” deliveries, trucking is still the primary mode of transport in use. Whether you operate a warehouse or a facility that receives regular shipments, running a safe and efficient loading dock is important. However, it also brings with it unique challenges, especially regarding your facility’s energy consumption. Loading dock doors are tall and wide, and they are frequently left open for long periods of time during loading and unloading.

With such a wide-open space, it’s all too easy for the conditioned air inside your facility to rush out, while truck fumes, dust, and even insects such as mosquitoes can enter the facility with ease. Each of these brings with them their own problems. Most importantly, though, you will frequently pay a higher energy bill due to the loss of climate-controlled air during loading work. With an industrial air curtain, you can solve this problem and create a more comfortable work environment.

How it works to keep your facility comfortable

The operational principles are roughly the same between air curtains of a smaller size and those with enough power and capacity to cover loading dock doors. The only difference is the addition of a more powerful air intake so that the curtain hardware itself does not have to work as hard to reach the bottom area of the dock. This method not only improves efficiency but also allows for quieter operations. While the air exiting the curtain is typically at the ambient temperature of the space, this has no bearing on its ability to separate interior and exterior air. However, heated models are available for facilities that must load and unload during very cold winters.

Generally speaking, though, cold air that is low to the ground will try to flow out of an open loading dock door rapidly. Hot exterior air can flow in through the top in the process of natural heat transfer. Meanwhile, idling trucks can spew fumes into the dock, making for an unpleasant environment for employees. With an air curtain installation, the air stream activates as soon as the door begins to open. You can then proceed with load operations in a workspace that remains comfortable. As a bonus, the air stream is strong enough to prevent mosquitoes from penetrating the field and entering your facility.

Energy savings can be substantial

Aside from creature comforts and convenience, the primary goal of installing an air curtain over a loading dock should be the same as in other applications: reducing energy usage. Being energy aware contributes to a more environmentally friendly business, but more importantly, lower monthly power bills. With no need to replace air lost through the dock or to re-condition a space after hours of exposure to the outdoors, you can see more wiggle room emerge in your utility budget. To find out how to secure one of these units for your loading bay, or to further discuss the benefits your business can see, reach out to the Air Door Distributors team for professional help today.

Warehouse operations are as diverse as the facilities themselves. While some are bustling centers of activity with dozens of staff transporting goods all around the warehouse floor all day, others focus more on proper storage and retrieval. To maintain a comfortable environment, warehouses often create different climate control zones. Other divisions separated by doors may exist to separate different areas of work. In either case, while using doors is helpful, it can slow down movement throughout the warehouse. Frequent ingress and egress through these doors can cause your HVAC systems to work overtime maintaining a set temperature, too.

Using an air curtain can remedy these issues. However, when you think of an air curtain, you may think of a much smaller unit, sized for a restaurant’s front door or something similar. How would a unit large enough to cover the width and height of an internal warehouse door actually function? The answer to that is simple, and the results are as dependable as any other installation.

Sizing air curtains for warehouse doors

The most important factor in a successful installation is choosing an air curtain that is both wide enough to create a sheet of air over the entire opening, and powerful enough for that sheet to reach the floor level. To provide the curtain hardware with a strong air flow, these installations typically use a separate air handler and intake that is wall mounted near to the actual curtain. A small duct supplies it with air which is then pressurized and sent flowing downward.

This gentle but powerful rush of air will be relatively imperceptible to your employees, but the effects it can have overall are quite large. Operational principles are simple: when the warehouse door is opened for the day, the curtain activates. Due to the continuous flow, hot air cannot escape from one zone to another, nor can cold air flow out near the bottom of the door. The result is that your desired interior climate is thoroughly maintained, and your overall energy usage will see a reduction. When a zone is not in active use, close the door to deactivate the curtain.

Create a more free-flowing movement across your space

According to a case study conducted by Berner, a leading brand in the air curtain market, some businesses have even developed successful retrofit applications to install air curtains over roll-up doors. With this in mind, upgrading your facility with one should seem a more appealing option. Not only will you pay less to heat or cool the space since less cool air will be lost, but employees can save time as well. Consider that a forklift carrying a pallet no longer needs to wait for a door to open; instead, they can move freely from zone to zone, between air curtains, with no delay.

With a simple mode of operation and curtains available to suit nearly any size warehouse door, this is an option you may want to investigate further. Find out more about how this hardware works and the specific benefits your facility could see. To learn more, please get in touch with the team at Air Door Distributors.

While some parts of running a company involve risk, even more of it involves careful planning and consideration. Making any change to your place of business, such as installing an air curtain, certainly merits a closer look at the pros and cons. When you choose to use an air curtain to maintain a pleasant atmosphere inside a restaurant, for example, the noise it generates may be of great concern to you. It’s naturally important to preserve the ambiance of the space and avoid interruptions every time someone enters the building.

Even in other applications, such as an air curtain over a walk-in freezer door, the noise level can be important. In a small space, for example, sounds become much louder; you wouldn’t want to expose your employees to such high noise levels. So, what do you need to know about air curtains in this regard?

Most installations offer pleasant, quiet operation

The good news is that this technology is not known for being very noisy, and the development of “whisper quiet” systems continues even now. A typical air curtain might output a sound level of around 50 decibels, which is roughly equivalent to a quiet day in a residential neighborhood or a normal level of indoor conversation. There are factors that can influence this, though. Covering larger spaces, for example, or choosing a model that can operate for longer periods of time can both yield a slightly louder experience.

However, in most cases, your guests or employees will barely notice as the device activates to create an invisible barrier with a gentle stream of air. Consider the fact as well that, especially for entrances, the air curtain will only operate for a few seconds while the door is open. Since it ceases operation immediately upon sensing the closing of the door, there is no unnecessary or extraneous noise. Overall, it is easy to forget they are even there.

Regular cleaning is a key to quiet operation

All this isn’t to say it’s impossible for an air curtain to be noisy; of course, some conditions can cause an elevated level of sound. Over time, as dust accumulates within the machine, the motor may need to work harder to push through the appropriate volume of air at the correct pressure. This extra work would correspond to an increase in its sound level, but the fix is simple — a quick cleaning and your unit will be back to its quiet, even operation.

Most manufacturers disclose the estimated operational sound levels of their products as part of the official specifications. However, generally one can expect that no air curtain will be excessively loud. If it is, it’s typically a sign of another problem at play. For that reason, they make an excellent and unobtrusive addition to your business. If you’d like to find out more about the sound levels produced by a particular model, or if you want to inquire further about this technology, please contact Air Distributors Today at 866-402-1642 or fill out our online contact form.

Sometimes, when business owners hear about air curtains, they are attracted to the benefits—the creature comforts, the pest prevention capabilities, etc.—but aren’t sure about the energy efficiency. Surely a device that generates a consistent flow of air when a door is opened will utilize a considerable amount of energy. Is this energy usage worth it to reap the benefits that an air curtain can provide?

In truth, air curtains are massively energy efficient and can improve the efficiency of your building as a whole. There are two primary reasons for this efficiency. The first (and smaller) reason is that air curtain manufacturers have figured out ways to design devices that deliver a powerful stream of air, on demand, without using a lot of energy. The second much bigger reason is that air curtains are designed in large part to cut down on other inefficiencies in a building.

Indeed, one of the biggest benefits that air curtains provide is temperature control. Usually, when a door is opened to the outside world, heat transfer occurs. Heat transfer is the process of hotter air moving toward a cooler space. If there is no barrier between the inside of a building and the outside world, the warmer temperature will move from one setting to the next, depending on which is cooler. In the summer, when many buildings have the air conditioning running at full blast, warm air from outside surges into the building any time an exterior door opens. In the winter, the opposite happens: the warmth from a heated indoor space will escape outside any time the door opens.

It’s easy to see how heat transfer can affect the overall energy efficiency of a building. Hot air or cold air finding its way into the building disrupts the equilibrium and forces the HVAC system to start up again and work harder to retain a consistent temperature. This extra strain on the system costs energy, which in turn costs money.

Building owners concerned about the cost of operating an air curtain shouldn’t worry. When an exterior door opens, the air curtain’s job is to send a stream of air cascading over the opening. This stream of air is enough to keep the outdoor and indoor spaces separate, which helps prevent heat transfer. The ultimate result is that the HVAC system doesn’t have to work as hard or use as much energy. In other words, while it does take a small amount of energy to power the air curtain device, that usage is ultimately dwarfed by how much energy is saved by stopping heat transfer in its tracks. In fact, most business owners find that air curtains eventually pay for themselves.

Are you interested in boosting your business’s energy efficiency and cutting your monthly energy bills down by a substantial margin? At Air Door Distributors, we offer an easy way to find and buy the latest (and most efficient) air curtain products on the market. Contact us today to get started.

Building codes are important for two key reasons: they provide the public with the peace of mind that accompanies the knowledge of a structure’s sound construction, and they codify a diverse set of best practices. While some building codes may focus on the strength of the materials used or the number of emergency exits in a building, other codes relate to facets such as energy efficiency. For building owners and construction managers, staying apprised of changes in building codes is an important task that can have a substantial influence on the decisions you make.

When it comes to the realm of energy conservation and climate control, there have been some important changes to building codes in the past few years. As air curtain technology sees continuing improvements and increasing use in diverse industries, regulatory undertakings such as the IECC, or the International Energy Conservation Code, have adapted to respond to changes in best practices. So too has the IgCC, a building code designed for environmental friendliness. What is new in these codes that you should know about?

Recognition comes to advances in air curtain technology

Perhaps the most important change came in the 2015 IECC guidance, as air curtains gained formal recognition as a viable alternative to a vestibule. Visit any older building with a large interior space, such a shopping mall or an office building with an expansive lobby, and you’re likely to pass through a vestibule first. Designed as an effort to keep a building’s interior air where it is and prevent hotter or cooler outside air from coming inside, vestibules were for years the “go-to” solution for reducing building-wide energy consumption. With the IECC now recognizing air curtains, eliminating vestibules from a building’s design is now a good option. This valuable space can be reclaimed in existing buildings, too, with the installation of an air curtain. Likewise, the 2012 edition of the IgCC also accepts that air curtains are acceptable alternatives.

Using air curtains in place of traditional solutions

Certain requirements do need to be met for an air curtain to be a compliant alternative to a vestibule, but for most building designers, this is not a great concern. Manufacturers have had several years to consider the changes implemented in these codes, such as the requirement for a gentle air stream that flows at a velocity of 2 meters per second at a minimum. As a result, most of the curtains available on the market now are already compliant and ready for use. If you’re planning a remodel or are in the process of designing a new building, consider consulting the updated IECC and IgCC guidance as you proceed with your latest plans.

Air Door Distributors offers access to a wealth of experience and industry leading products that are always up to code and ready for immediate installation in your chosen application. To explore more information about the benefits of air curtains or to discuss using them in place of a vestibule, please get in touch with our team today.