Energy Savings, Safety and Access Are Top Benefits of Automated Doors

While they are overwhelmingly preferred by everyone from shoppers to movie goers to hospital visitors, automated entry doors provide important benefits in safety, handicapped accessibility and energy savings.

Entry doors that open only when someone approaches the doorway help reduce energy waste and lower heating and cooling costs. Studies show that with automated door energy compliance, a building’s heating energy consumption can be reduced by as much as 43%.

Energy Efficient

Automated doors conserve heating and cooling energy in several ways. Whether the door slides open sideways, revolves, swings open or folds, by closing after the pedestrian comes through, a barrier is restored to prevent heat or cool air loss. Doors equipped with low-power motors use less electricity adding to the energy savings.

Doors are also manufactured to maintain tight seals when closed and are made with materials that provide greater insulation. Automatic doors are rated with a U-factor as a measure of its ability to prevent heat loss in cold weather and heat gain in the summer. A lower U-factor number indicates greater resistance to heat loss from non-solar heat induction.

Safety and Access

Anyone who is carrying an armful of packages, pushing a stroller or is slowed by an injury, handicap or age appreciates a door that opens as they approach. When installed according to industry standards and routinely inspected and maintained, automatic doors feature sensing devices and other safety technology that prevent accidents.

Preferred and Expected

A survey of American consumer preferences revealed a widely held preference for automated doors. At some types of buildings, there is even an expectation of automated doors in use. Conducted by the American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers, the survey revealed that most people find automated doors as a welcome convenience and a sign of good customer service. 

When asked their preference for entry doors, this cross-section of American consumers stated they prefer automated doors when entering a building. Also, when people enter a hospital or airport facility, they expect to find an automated doorway.

When asked how important it is to find an automatic door at the entry to a variety of buildings, the majority said it was important or very important. More than nine of ten people ranked hospital or airport as buildings as most important for automatic doors. Other buildings such as hotels and shopping mall entrances were ranked next highest in importance, followed by government and office buildings, and college and university buildings. Restaurants, both full-service and fast food, were least likely places they expected to find automatic doors.