In many stores, the influx of customers almost constantly keep the front door open. It seems to be nothing. However, if you think about it, it is a problem: because, say, in winter the room with the doors open will be filled with cold air from outside.
It turns out that money will be spent on heating the street. It is the same in summer: hot air from the street will “for naught” work of air conditioners in offices, clubs, restaurants and cafes, vehicle repair shops, warehouses..
Consultants Ilya Kultaev, Inrost Group, Anatoly Sherstobitov, Rusclimate Company.
Shade or warm up?
There is a way out – to separate zones with different temperatures. For this purpose, air curtains are designed.
They can be used to ensure that a window, door or gate is open, but no air escapes from the room and no outside drafts enter.
Thus, heat loss is reduced and the work of the main heating or cooling system is more efficient and as a consequence, cheaper. Depending on the conditions, the air curtain can pay for itself in one season.
Air curtains come in both nonheated i.e. e. simply serve to separate temperature zones and heated.
However, it is worth remembering that these devices are not designed for primary room heating, heating function in them – secondary, although they can certainly make a significant contribution to this process.
Heated air curtains are divided into water and electric.
Water models use hot water from the central water supply as the “heating element”. Operation of such devices is not expensive, but installation of the equipment is a rather troublesome thing.
The air curtain is blown from an electrical outlet
Electric air curtains are the most common – we have widespread electricity, after all. They are powered by single- or three-phase circuits. Heating elements heat the air stream pumped by the fan that separates the invisible wall of the two temperature volumes.
The heating element also uses heating elements tubular heaters and lanes ribbons . The latter do not have significant thermal inertia, so when the power supply is cut, they cool down almost immediately.
They are used, in particular, in air curtains with plastic housing. Heating elements are often made of stainless steel, which is especially important when using the air curtains in rooms with high humidity, such as car washes.
By the way, models to operate in wet areas, such as car washes, in addition, are equipped with special protection of the various components. Some air curtains like General Climate have a nozzle that allows you to form an air stream.
Power of the devices varies from 3-4 to 30 kW. There are formulas for selecting the right power salespeople and consultants can help with the calculations and the results are influenced by various factors, including the size of the room, the size of the opening, the desired location of the units, even the location of the whole building for example, its openness to the wind .
Where do we blow from??
Place the air curtain usually at the door or near the window. It can be both vertical and horizontal – it all depends on the layout of the room, individual preferences
and the design of the entrance doors or gates must not block the air flow .
Normal width of the curtain – from 0,7 to 2 m, and it must either be equal or greater than the width of the covered aperture. If you need to cover a wider opening, then several units are grouped together in a modular fashion.
Sometimes recessed air curtains are installed into the ceiling at a height of 2.5m or more. Only the grid which serves a decorative function is visible on the ceiling. Some models are equipped with filters that clean the air flow.
The range of the air curtains ranges from 1.5 m dispensing windows, kiosks to 8 m hangars, gates in large rooms .
About the control of a single air curtain
The air curtains usually have a stepwise power and airflow rate controller: select the optimal level according to conditions and needs.
The parameters of the electric air curtains are set on the control panel: 90% of units are equipped with a wired remote control it is connected to the air curtain with a control cable and is located in a convenient location – on the wall, for example , 5% – with buttons on the air curtain itself and 5% are equipped with a remote infrared remote control.
Some units are able to maintain a set temperature, which is set on the thermostat. For safety, there is a built-in overheat protection. After a power outage, some models start up again, and some require a restart.
The service life of the air curtains is quite significant, because they are prepared for almost continuous operation.
By the way, note that as an additional “bonus” when using air curtains can be called this: an invisible air barrier protects the room not only from heat loss, but also does not let in dust from the street, bad smells and insects.
Read more: Heat guns
What exactly is an “air curtain” and how does it function? Is it similar to a physical barrier?