Businesses that receive high volumes of foot traffic benefit from automatic commercial doors. Employees and customers generally prefer them in a busy building, but automatic doors come in different types to suit different situations.
Automatic commercial doors are an important part of a range of industries, and choosing the right application for your safety and space requirements matters. Here are three common types that might match your business.
1. Sliding automatic commercial doors
These are a common choice for larger spaces, particularly where there is no defined entrance or exit on the exterior of the building. They come in single and double sliding options, and the double is the better fit where a wider entrance is needed for two-way traffic.
Manufacturers produce several specialised versions of the sliding glass door:
Sliding fire doors. Suited to large commercial spaces needing large exit and entry points if a fire breaks out. Commercial kitchens and medical facilities are the usual settings.
Sliding acoustic doors. For situations where noise pollution would otherwise affect the public or customers. Office spaces, noisy kitchens and nightclubs use them.
Sliding sanitary doors. For commercial settings where easy cleaning and bacterial resistance are requirements, such as hospitality and medical work.
Sliding radiation doors. Typically combined with a fire door so the opening is protected against both radiation and fire. Common in radiation facilities and large hospitals.
2. Folding automatic commercial doors
Folding automatic doors are popular because they use very little space. They come in bi-folding or single options and retract like an accordion, which makes them useful where a space has to serve several purposes: because the door retracts, two rooms can become one. That makes them a strong choice where there is not much room to work with.
The tight, compact folding mechanism has a trade-off. You cannot fit these doors with thick fireproofing or soundproofing materials. They can, however, be manufactured from hygienic and sanitary materials, which is why they turn up in:
- Catering venues
- Hospitals
- Doctors’ offices
- Performance venues
- Warehouses
3. Swinging automatic commercial doors
Swinging automatic doors work like any other door and come in single or double sizes. The double swinging action is efficient in heavy-traffic situations and is commonly seen in hospital hallways.
They are not the right answer where space is limited or at a premium. Their advantage is that they are often manufactured with protective fittings, and they are available in fire, acoustic, sanitary and radiation options like their sliding counterparts.
Choosing between them
Space usually decides it. If there is wall beside the opening, a slider is the most efficient answer for high traffic. If there is not, a swing door works but eats floor area in its arc. If the opening needs to disappear entirely and reappear later, a folding system is the only one of the three that does that.
For the systems themselves, see our pages on automatic sliding doors, the automatic swing door series and folding glass doors.
