One hears a great deal about energy issues when trying to choose a suitable industrial door, especially as the 2011 Energy Act came into force this year and by 2020 one must meet the new building regulations that require all industrial overhead doors to have a U-value of 1.4W/M2 or lower. Yet while rightly there is concern about doors’ energy efficiency it seem that the buildings themselves are often not insulated.

Even so, while there are many aspects to warehouse energy conservation top of the concern list is often doors because potentially they could waste more energy than any other equipment. With that in mind it is essential to choose a reliable door manufacturer very early on in the planning stage who has a good after-sales service track record and is prepared to offer a list of satisfied clients for checking out. For peace of mind, stick with members of ALEM.

Given that there are many issues concerning door choice it would be helpful to review one’s past experience of them in operation at one’s premises. How many times, for example, have you experienced door damage and injuries, usually caused by forklift collisions? If they are high then a door crash-out facility which allows quick reinstatement might be appropriate, combined with a laser scanner that can be used horizontally at doors. How many daily cycles can be expected from fast-acting roller doors now and in the future? Their operational frequency is important because the more opening/closing cycles the higher the maintenance costs.

This sort of information should be given to potential door suppliers. Some doors, like those from Efaflex, use a virtually wearfree design allowing up to 250,000 cycles between maintenance visits. If traffic through the door is so high that it makes sense to keep the door permanently open in working hours then an air curtain inside an outer security door may be more suitable. These curtains can cut energy loss costs by as much as 80% and help keep cool air in and eliminate any possibility of door damage and injuries from them.

Fast-action roller doors are not cheap, so that is why it’s important to conduct an ROI exercise, where results can vary widely. The leading door suppliers can help out here by providing energy audits, a key ingredient for assessing ROI. Door control mechanisms also play their part in controlling costs. A pushbutton, wall-mounted door control, for example, would take much longer than a truck-mounted, infra-red or laser scanner, wasting drivers’ time and keeping doors open too long.

As in many other branches of logistics, the industrial door sector is constantly changing and innovating to bring more efficiency and cost savings. New models are frequently launched and it seems the current focus is on activation and monitoring methods, easily integrated control systems, and enhancements around the sealing of the doors. A good example almost hot off the stocks is Assa Abloy’s 82mm thick, insulated, overhead sectional door, the OH1082P, which has a U-value more than twice as effective as that of a standard overhead, sectional door. With a U-value of 0.46W/M2K, the new door is futureproofed to meet the 2020 building regulations on overhead doors’ Uvalue.

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