The revolving doors used in high rise office towers are good at keeping the cold out and warm air in which is why they are so energy efficient.
Unlike regular hinged doors, which allow outside air in making it difficult to keep buildings cool in the summer and warm in winter, revolving doors produce airlocks while still allowing people to enter and exit.
This is important for internal temperature control.
According to revolving door technology company Royal Boon Edam, energy costs fall 30 per cent when revolving doors are used instead of hinged doors.
This figure is based on research the company undertook with TU Delft, a technical university in the Netherlands.
Royal Boon Edam Australia managing director, Michael Fisher, said that while its hard to calculate exact savings for different applications, the energy savings are very real and significant.
“Calculating the exact amount of savings per building is a science that depends on a host of factors, including the individual site, how heavily it is trafficked, the state of maintenance of the revolving door, and whether it is used in a hotel, retail outlet, educational institution, health facility or commercial headquarters,” he said.
“What we can say with complete certainty is that the modern revolving door is particularly suited to Australasia, where it helps to control not only losses of heat, but also losses of cool air produced by hard-working HVAC systems.
“The days of walking past venues on hot days to be greeted by an icy wave of cold air are long gone. Facility managers can’t afford to make a gift of their expensive cooled air.”
Royal Boon Edam has a long list of installations in Australia and its latest Green OEM and retrofit packages feature motion detectors.
They are able to detect the walking direction of people in the vicinity of the door, ensuring the door will only turn when someone wants to enter it. This reduces energy use.
Another improvement is weather strips, consisting of a combination of horse hair and a Neoprene interlayer that reduces the air leakage by at least 30 per cent, improving energy efficiency even further on each individual application.
The packages can also include a new lighting system with LED lights which have a longer lifespan and 60 per cent lower energy consumption than the halogen lights that are currently used in most revolving doors. The smart lighting control allows the ceiling lighting to be turned off when the door is not in use.
Proper maintenance of revolving doors to optimise energy conservation was one of the factors behind the decision to expand Boon Edam’s service division in Australia and New Zealand.
The company has joined forces with automatic door manufacturer Auto Ingress Pty Ltd in Australia, and with leading New Zealand door installation and service company Commercial and Industrial Doors.
“Although revolving doors generally enjoy a built-in energy conservation advantage, this can be extended further by sensible maintenance and upgrading where required,” Fisher said adding that service and maintenance helps to keep the equipment compliant with Australian Standard AS:5007, which requires doors to be inspected every three months.