Your Local Service Center:
Vortex Logo

What is an Air Curtain?

November 13, 2024 | Security & Safety

What is an Air Curtain?Climate control is a challenge for both residential and commercial buildings. Most homeowners solve the problem by shutting their doors and windows, an option generally unavailable to business owners, who need to keep their buildings open to the public.

One often-overlooked solution is air curtains. Also known as air doors, they create an invisible barrier that separates outdoor weather from heated or air conditioned spaces. Commercial air curtains separate temperature zones without the need for a physical barrier, leaving more usable space for forklifts, workers, and pallet jacks. In high-traffic areas, they minimize congestion and allow for smoother and faster traffic, while producing energy savings at the same time.

How Do Air Curtains Work?

Air curtains operate by creating a powerful jet stream that prevents outside air from interfering with interior temperature controls. Once the unit is installed, it pulls in ambient air and accelerates it down through a plenum (a central distribution space within an HVAC system), which ensures it’s evenly distributed along the entire doorway before being blasted out at high speed. Despite its strength, air flow is relatively uniform, with minimal turbulence as it blows across the opening. Around eighty percent of the air is directed back into the room, while the remaining twenty percent is directed outside.

What Are the Benefits of An Air Curtain?

When it comes to climate control, air barriers are every bit as effective as solid doors. By recirculating air, they reduce the number of heating and cooling cycles necessary to sustain your desired temperature. Even though they’re designed to run continuously, their electrical requirements are low. But besides reducing the strain on your furnace and air conditioner, air curtains provide several other benefits.

  • Increased Productivity. Comfortable temperatures ensure machinery operates efficiently. They also make it easier for employees to carry out their assigned tasks.
  • High Air Quality. Industrial air curtains prevent dust, dirt, and pollutants from entering your facility, ensuring a healthy environment even when working with open doors.
  • Pest Control. Flying insects can’t penetrate high-velocity air curtains. They get swept away before they can enter your facility, preventing them from contaminating your assets or inventory.
  • De-Stratified Air. Due to convection and thermal expansion, most rooms don’t have a uniform temperature, but layers of hot air and cold air. Air curtains disrupt this situation. When they hit the floor, they create an air current that forces cold air upwards and pulls warm air down, evening the room temperature.
  • Clear Lines of Sight. Transporting goods through a crowded warehouse can lead to accidents. Doors block lines of sight, but air curtains preserve them. By giving drivers and staff a clear view of who or what is in front of them, they reduce the risk of collision and injury.

Where Are They Used?

Air curtains are precision engineered. Their size and power depends on the height and width of the opening, as well as their application. Though not suitable for every entryway, air curtains are an efficient and effective solution for a number of businesses, including:

  • Hospitals. Air barriers regulate temperature in healthcare facilities. They also shield sensitive areas from airborne pathogens. For added protection, UV and HEPA filters can be installed in order to sterilize indoor air.
  • Grocery Stores. Found normally in cold storage, air curtains allow supermarkets and retailers to protect storerooms that require constant refrigeration. They not only control temperatures. They also prevent infiltration by flies, bees, and other pests.
  • Loading Docks. Air curtains can protect dock doors up to 30 feet high. They allow shipping companies to keep their doors open during the loading and unloading process without compromising energy efficiency.
  • Drive-Thrus. Installing an air curtain allows food service employees to hand meals and collect money through open windows while minimizing energy costs.
  • Manufacturing. Placing an air curtain inside a clean room creates an effective but inexpensive barrier against low-level contaminants which could jeopardize the precision and quality of pharmaceuticals, electronics, medical devices, and other hi-tech products.

According to the American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), air curtains are also an acceptable alternative for vestibules as long as they maintain a 400-ft/min. airstream velocity at the floor. Installing air curtains allows businesses to retrofit existing vestibules in order to repurpose the space for more productive use.

Air Curtain Maintenance

Vortex repairs and services all types of door systems and equipment, including air curtains. Our technicians ensure optimal performance and longevity by cleaning fans and air filters, removing debris that could restrict air flow and increase mechanical wear. Contact us today to learn more about our dedicated maintenance programs.

Want to SHARE this?

Fully Certified & Accredited Commercial Door Experts

IDEA logo
Lead Safe EPA logo
ISN RAVS Plus Participant Logo
Newsweek most loved 2024
AAADM logo
NFPA logo
Avetta logo

What Our Customers Are Saying

Excellent
5.0
Raul De la G.
Great service!
Matt and Julie P.
Great service!! Door is fixed in lightning speed! Dakota was such a professional and quickly fixed our door! A job well done!
jonathan B.
Awesome people !(:
Joe V.
Tech was awesome, in & out with perfect work. Turned an old door into practically something brand new. Will definitely be calling Vortex again in the future ??
Maria M.
John & Aaron were professional & got the job done quickly.
Shay S.
Vortex crew was amazing to work with! From the from the field managers, office managers and technicians everyone are pleasant to talk to and very patient.
I had a commercial door that didn't lock so good, thought it need to be replaced so I called vortex for a quote knowing a store front door isn't a cheap buy.
When their field manager came to my store he told me that the door can be fixed and we don't need to replace it, in that moment I understood that they are a company that not try to push and sell you things you don't need but they actually come to help you and caring about your business.
After that experience I used them to fixed 2 other doors and a bunch of metal shutters in the same plaza. The technician who arrive (Josef) was amazing, I was very impressed with all of his knowledge, he came, fix everything (even what seems to look like unfixable), and do so with good energies and a smile.
The company I work for owning 4 different plazas and I hope nothing will ever brake but if something will I am feeling confident to have vortex number saved on my phone.
Havannah
MARTIN IS THE COOLEST DUDE EVER!! He took such great care of our door for our business, in great amount of time. He was so kind to the customers going in and out of the store while he worked.
10/10 service. You won’t be dissapointed!!!!
Mauricio G.
They did a Good job fixing the dock and welding with good communication
Annette A.
We are so very happy with the service Vertez provided to us. Lucas was very professional and kept us abreast at all times.installers extremely courteous and knowledgeable about their job.we would highly recommend Vertex to anyone. Great company to use.
js_loader
Vortex Doors - since 1937

Perfect service, incredibly fast.

Please call us at (800) 698-6783 for 24/7 customer support.

Contact Us