Knowing and caring about environmental issues is one thing, but actually doing something about them is different, according to security system specialist and supplier of automatic doors Kaba Door Systems.
Interestingly, however, Kaba says 70% of the UK population consider it socially acceptable to be seen to be green, with reducing the amount of energy used now felt to be “as virtuous as giving to charity”, and, increasingly, private and public sector organisations seeing the commercial and social benefits of reducing the environmental impact of their activities.
Kaba says: “As non-domestic buildings in the UK account for 18% of carbon emissions, there is certainly a significant hole to fill by improving the energy efficiency of such buildings via better energy management and maintenance.
“Automatic entrances and exit doors, if designed and working properly, provide the best solution within a hospital environment, and can contribute significantly towards helping to reduce energy or heat loss, improving user-friendliness, and providing unimpeded, contact-free access, bringing comfort and convenience to everyday life. They also satisfy appropriate legislation, such as the Disability Discrimination Act; Building Regulations (Part M and B); Health & Safety at Work Act:1974, and BS7036:1996.”
Kaba says that, while the manual swing doors used in many buildings may initially be very cost-effective, due to their design they can be left open, resulting in increased energy loss. One simple solution is to fit them with operators, which can be done “very cost effectively”, and will provide improved efficiency and ensure smooth, low noise operation, and clean running.
The company says: “Meanwhile automatic sliding, folding, or curved sliding doors can provide an opening of 60% of the structural width. They offer improved user- friendliness and lifetime cost benefits through reliability and endurance, and unimpeded, contact-free use. Doors can be mounted in paired series to provide an ‘air-lock’ style tunnel to effectively reduce wind chill.”
A further way to increase energy efficiency is to ensure that all automatic doors are running efficiently and operating effectively – a goal Kaba says a proactive maintenance schedule should ensure is met.
The door specialist says: “Maintenance costs for keeping automatic doors operating properly can potentially be high, and, with many facilities now supporting a greater number and variety of applications over multiple sites, there has never been more of a need for an experienced partner to ensure that all internal and external doors are properly maintained and operating effectively.”
Planned preventative maintenance (PPM) anticipates the wear, tear, and changes all doors are subject to, while continuous monitoring should ensure peak efficiency and minimise deterioration. PPM programmes from Kaba offers customers “dedicated single-point contact; door schedules detailing type, age, and operating lifetime; asset registers and asset ageing; door spend reports; maintenance and renewal costings for budget consideration, and consolidated payment plans”.
Kaba Door Systems Ltd
Door Automation
Halesfield 4
Telford
TF7 4AP
Tel: 0870 000 5252
Fax: 0870 000 5253
National sales: 0800 3166994
National repairs: 0870 000 5222
Email: sales@kdt.kaba.com
www.kabadoorsystems.co.uk
