Food Marketing & Technology - India July 2019 | Page 8

Doors Make the Difference for Cold Storage A dvancements in freezer/cooler door technology and a recent study from the Door and Access System Manufacturer’s Association (DASMA) now make it easier to choose which kind of door to use on a freezer/chilled room in a cold storage distribution center (DC). Regardless of how official government policy is finally decided on the issue of climate change, industry has realized that going green saves money and businesses have embraced sustainability to bolster the bottom line. There are major retailers that have encouraged their supply chain partners to come on board as well. In most DCs, the building’s interior consists of wide- open, un-walled spaces. In a cold storage DC the freezer and chilled rooms have to be their own separate environments in order to maintain product quality and prevent food spoilage. Being a low-margin business and any waste of course comes out of profits. Confining Cold Air or Letting in Traffic Cold storage plant managers have been wrestling with the question of what kind of door works best for a cold storage room. After all, doors have two uses on this or any kind of facility – to allow access and to protect the activities taking place in the room in order to protect product quality. The two are seemingly in conflict. The question of covering the opening with a door that is as thick as the wall itself to prevent heat transfer? Or, using high-speed doors to prevent traffic back up into and out of cold storage? Research Provides an Answer So how should the management in a cold storage facility decide when it comes to door selection? After a two-year project featuring third-party lab testing, DASMA developed a method to demonstrate the efficiency of high-speed doors in building envelope energy calculations. The model for performance testing and evaluation was a prototypical, high-speed fabric door. Overall, DASMA noted that high-speed doors are the type of product that can significantly help achieve energy-saving goals. The DASMA research revealed a new perspective in evaluating door energy efficiency and took into consideration common U-factor, air leakage, and motor horsepower values in a comparison of high-speed doors to conventionally operating insulated doors. The study showed that high-speed doors become more efficient when cycled 55 or more times per day, with that “crossover” point illustrated below. The kinds of high-speed doors the study had in mind have a roll-up design with a heavy-duty plastic fabric panel. For some measure of heat transfer resistance, there are models with double panels enclosing a layer of insulating foam. Cold Air Stops at the Seal Along with reducing air infiltration, high-speed roll-up doors offer a superior seal around the full door perimeter with side guides covering the vertical panel edges, a floor-hugging seal, and a brush seal along the top. Roll- up doors are better designed than solid-panel doors at sealing the door when closed. The door’s operating life in an industrial/commercial setting pretty much involves getting out of the way of traffic that passes through the opening. Solid panel doors, being slower, are more likely to be hit by forklifts and other material handling vehicles. The damage that results can vary. Panels can be knocked out of alignment, forming gaps in the seal, have holes punched in them, or be totally knocked off the wall. When that collision happens, the result is massive air infiltration and energy loss. If the door is totally disabled, the loss of one doorway in a busy cold storage facility can considerably cripple delivery schedules and wreak havoc with productivity. If a high-speed roll-up door is hit and the panel knocked out of its guides, results are less severe. Most models have a self-repairing feature; the door is activated to roll up and then the panel rolls back into its guides. This design protects both the doorway and the facility’s ability to meet customer demands. It’s All About Choice The introduction of quick-operating sliding doors combined with DASMA research on suitability of high- speed doors means that doors can be specified according to the operation. Now management can make a door selection and be comfortable with it based on the needs of the operation. Whatever the requirements of the facility, industrial door experts Gandhi Automation’s Pvt Ltd can provide advice and insight to tailor a door that delivers the performance and protection every doorway need.