What are Air Curtains?
Before, actually getting into the species of how what, and where, it is quite crucial to understand what exactly are air curtains. Have you ever experienced air striking your head when you enter an airport or a mall? Ever wondered what that is? Well, it is surely something more than an ordinary door or any air vestibule.
In fact, it is an invisible barrier of air that prevents the inside air to mix with the outside air, thus preventing the loss of conditioned air and obstructing the entry of mosquitoes, flies, and dust, without any physical division.
Air curtains or air doors are devices that help create an unseen blockade between the air outside your premise and inside your workplace without the necessity of keeping a door which is a lot of hassle. Thus, an air curtain is one of those devices that provide a lot of utility. This energy-saving innovation is used in commercial and residential buildings to prevent insects, dust, and a wide range of other things from entering certain spaces. Furthermore, it ensures that the air in the building remains conditioned thereby, increasing the efficiency of the “air conditioners”, by not allowing the air to escape. Other than that, it allows the owners to utilize the space near the doors that would otherwise be blocked by bulky vestibules, etc. Air curtains generate a uniform stream of directed air, across an opening and create a barrier that inhibits the transfer of heat and particulate matter from one zone to the other. An appropriately designed system will create this barrier across the entire height and width of the opening.
Broadly, air curtains are of two types:
- Recirculating and
- Non-circulating air curtains.
The non-recirculating air curtain is more popular as it is more economical than the recirculating one.
Why do we need an Air Curtain?
Recirculating air curtains are a complex assembly of fans, poor grills, baffle filters, hepa filters, ducts, and plenum to create a uniform low. Thus, making installation difficult, time-consuming and costly.
In places such as airports, retail stores, and manufacturing units with a continuous movement of people, materials, or vehicles, a door wouldn’t be a viable option as it would be necessary to leave the door open leading to the air, pests, dust, and smell entering the conditioned environment. Air curtains provide an assurance of a well-sealed yet conditioned environment and offer a great level of comfort to the employees resulting in a happier workforce.
Moreover, in segments such as cold rooms, restaurants, hospitals, food, and dairy industries, it is vital to protect the air inside from being contaminated by the air outside. Even during the stormy season, air curtains ensure to keep debris and other outside substances away thus maintaining hygiene and a clean environment.
How does an air curtain work as a thermal barrier?
The door or shutter opens, if there is a thermal air temperature difference on both sides. The exchange of air starts, since the colder air is denser, it settles down and hot air rises up since it is lighter. Now the cold air tries to move out from the bottom of the door and hot air moves towards the colder side from the top of the door.
This continuous exchange of air leads to heavy energy loss. Thus when the Air Curtains start, it blows the air from top to bottom and creates an air wall along the width of the door, thus separating two different thermal conditions and acting like a barrier.
This leads to the saving of conditioned air and inhibits the entry of dust, mosquitoes, and flies.
Commercial air curtains are a great way to seal off an entryway to separate two different environments. For example, you might want to keep hot air out and air-conditioned air in. Or you might simply want to keep bugs and debris out of a work area. Air curtains, also known as air doors, create an air seal to prevent the environments from mixing.
Mitzvah represents high-quality air curtains and also they can evaluate, size, and order the right curtain for your application.