If you’ve ever observed the average garage door, dock door or other large industrial door, you may have noticed that they tend to open and close ponderously slow. This can cause problems for business owners on a variety of levels and leave them looking for solutions. One possible solution is the use of high speed doors.
What is a High Speed Door?
A high speed door is a lightweight door with a specially geared mechanism that allows it to raise and lower really quickly, but safely. These doors can be made from aluminum, vinyl, rubber or other light, strong materials. Vinyl and rubber doors have the added advantage of being damage-resistant. Some of these doors can open at a speed of up to 48 inches per second (IPS). These doors are usually equipped with a sensor to make sure they do not close on somebody if they’re standing in the doorway.
The Problem with Slow Doors
In any industry, the old adage that “time is money” is often quite accurate. Knowing that there is a cost associated with time, it stands to reason that time spent waiting for a door to open or close, particularly a door that needs to be opened or closed many times throughout the day, is money wasted. Speaking of wasting money, the time that the door is open or partially open also leads to losing temperature control, allowing the cold or hot outside air in. Having a door that takes a long time to open or close, therefore, leads to an increase in heating and cooling costs.
Industries that Can Use High Speed Doors
A high speed door is a good fit for any business that has a lot of traffic going in and out. Some of the obvious choices would include auto repair shops, car dealerships, loading docks, and manufacturing plants. There is also a very strong need for high speed doors in the scientific community and in high tech industries. In a “clean room,” doors need to open and close extremely fast to reduce the likelihood of contamination of experiments and projects. A high speed door is perfect for applications such as this.
