High speed doors have demonstrated their worth when it comes to efficiency, but now manufacturers are finding there are also environmental benefits to using these devices. Katherine Crichton reports.
WHILE many things in life are free, it certainly isn’t energy as Australian manufacturers are quickly finding out.
And with dwindling resources driving the price of energy up, energy efficiency is at the forefront of most people’s minds.
Solutions are now flooding the market that claim to help manufacturers reduce their energy consumption, but there is a product that has already been doing this for a number of years.
The humble industrial door may not look like much on the outside, but it is what it’s helping to do on the inside that counts.
Commonly found in cold storage halls, high speed doors (HSDs) are now used widely in production and distribution centres to not only optimise traffic flow, but also improve room climate and reduce energy costs with remarkable success.
According to Mil Lozanovski, sales manager with MTI Qualos, these benefits can be largely attributed to developments in automation and climate control technologies which are making high speed doors faster and more intelligent.
“Many doors, particularly high speed systems, have moved from mechanical to digital control systems which enable easier servicing and control.
“Users are now able to maintain doors by standing on the ground, whereas traditionally you would have to stand up on a ladder and fiddle around with the motor which has obvious OHS implications,” Lozanovski explained.
Another development helping reduce energy costs is improvements in door seal technology.
“Seals are now tighter than ever, with materials such as CFC-free rigid PU foam used in conjunction with an all-round sealing frame giving doors high strength and thermal values. It is now possible to control 99.9% of the temperature in rooms.
To further guarantee energy savings, companies are also using door combinations in their factories and warehouses, i.e. flexible external doors with rolling shutters or sectional doors.
“Combined doors are not merely robust; they also result in good acoustic and thermal insulation.
“We had a client who installed eight doors from us and used them in conjunction with their roller doors to control the temperature in their factory.
“They found the investment paid for itself within 12 months due to the significant saving on heating costs. It works similarly to curtains in a house: trap in heat or cool air.”
Smarter and bigger
Traditionally, one of the main challenges associated with high speed doors was limitations in size.
In timbering applications for example, some of logs can reach 7-8m wide. Previously high speed doors were only available up to 6m which made it difficult for the logs to go through.
This has now changed with companies like Seuster developing a door for oversized openings with the dimensions of 10m wide and 6m height.
Windload can often be an obstacle when installing doors but Lozanovski says a number of wind protectors can be developed depending on the door size, wind pressure requirements, as well as the installation situation.
“If you are in an area that is windy, like WA where the wind can get up to 150km/hr, a normal door would buckle under these conditions so you would have to use the right door for the application.
“The use of double tensioning belts and wide guide rails as well as spring steel curtain with tandem track rollers can help ensure quiet door travel and allow for higher wind pressures.”
Doors are not only getting bigger, but thicker as well.
Stephen Fell, export director with DMF International, says even though the use of high speed doors basically previously led to saving energy, the heat insulation of the doors used however often was neglected.
“The introduction of double walled insulation laths in thermally separated and insulated models for exterior high speed doors is now ensuring better heat and temperature control.
“Especially in the times between uses of a high speed door, this measure ensures that it will again extensively reduce the unwelcome loss of heat,” he told Manufacturers’ Monthly.
According to Fell, what an end user is ultimately trying to achieve is not just a door solution that will help them maintain climate control but also something that is easy to use.
“Depending on the client, some systems require simple operations or complex operations integrated with equipment such as forklifts and other doors,” he said.
The good news for manufacturers is while the benefits and features of industrial doors are increasing, the actual price of doors has dropped dramatically in the last 10 years or so.
Both Lozanovski and Fell say there is a wider range of doors available to industry, ranging from low end to high end.
“Door price relates to door size, so for example if you are comparing a low end door to a high end one you are looking at a price range of around $10 – $30,000 per a door.
“The high end door will be faster and not just offer climate control but also security, so this is something to consider when purchasing a door,” Fell said.
For more information contact:
DMF International 02 9636 5466.
MTI Qualos 03 94501900.