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Air Curtain Fundamentals
The Basics:
Air curtains create a laminar airflow that is projected over the opening
of a doorway. This "curtain" of air acts as an invisible barrier that
won't let air flow through it. Conditioned air from the inside of the
door that would normally escape when the door is opened is instead
diverted back inside when it hits the wall of air. The air seal also
keeps the outside air from entering. This can be beneficial for several
reasons, including lowering heating and cooling costs, stopping insects
from entering, and keeping airborne particles and contaminants out of a
particular area.
Want to know more? Have a look below.
An aire curtain is most often used to separate one environment from
another. It does this by creating a "curtain" of moving air that is
projected over the opening of a doorway. The wall of air acts as an
invisible barrier that will not allow air to flow through it. Typically,
the aire curtain is mounted over a doorway on the inside, as a result,
the air pulled into the intake of the unit is from the conditioned
environment. This air is accelerated and forced through a narrow
discharge along the length of the aire curtain creating a laminar
airflow. The discharge angle can be adjusted using the provided turning
vanes to achieve optimum performance. As the discharge angle increases,
the air has to travel further until it hits the floor. Since the
velocity of the air decreases as it gets further away from the aire
curtain, if the discharge angle is too large the aire curtain won't be
able to stop much wind from entering near the floor. If the discharge
angle is too small, the air leaving the unit will not have enough
horizontal force to stop a significant gust of wind from entering.
Usually the ideal discharge angle for maximum wind-stopping capability
is around fifteen degrees.
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When the discharged air reaches the floor it splits,
forcing some air outward and some inward. This is why when a unit is
used for climate control, it should be placed on the opposite side of
the doorway from that of the air that is to be kept out. For example, if
it is winter and you are trying to keep cold outside air from entering a
building, the aire curtain would be placed on the inside so that it is
blowing warm air. When the warm air hits the floor, some is leaked to
the outside and some is blown back inside. If the unit was on the other
side of the opening, some of the cold air that you are trying to keep
out would be blown inside, defeating the purpose. If the unit is to be
used for insect control, the aire curtain can be mounted on the outside
of the doorway as long as the discharge is adjusted so the air is
blowing back toward the outside. In this situation it doesn't matter if
some of the outside air is blown inside after it splits at the floor.
This air should already be free of insects because they will not fit
through the intake screen. |
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