7 Reasons To Install Automatic Doors

Posted Friday, February 25th, 2022

A pedestrian door is often referred to as a sliding door and is the main feature of your building. It allows customers and employees to safely enter and leave your building at will. These doors should slide open easily before pedestrians get to them, and should close easily behind them without issue, remaining open if multiple groups of people are going through at once.

 

  1. Cost/Value

Automatic doors are much more economical than many people believe. Furthermore, a lot of potential buyers neglect to include important factors such as product life cycle, energy savings and lower-cost automatic door options in their pre-purchase door evaluations. This often leads to a common misconception that automatic doors are excessively high-priced. There are many low-energy automatic door options available, including low-energy swinging doors. These doors offer a cost-effective solution to providing universal accessibility–while allowing able-bodied traffic to use the door as a manual, swinging door. Creating additional cost savings, low-energy operators can be applied to existing doors. Automatic doors that are correctly maintained and serviced usually run smoothly for many years and virtually pay for themselves in terms of convenience and energy savings.

  1. Energy Savings

Automatic doors effectively reduce wasted energy in multiple ways and may significantly lessen annual heating and cooling costs. Automatic doors open only when an incoming user or object triggers them to do so and then close again a safe time after the person or object passes through the door. This eliminates the incidence of doors being left open accidentally, which can be a costly mistake when heating or air conditioning is operating. Utilizing an automatic door also ensures that the door is shut completely each time it closes, thereby preventing expensive heat and air conditioning from escaping through open areas. Plus, many new, low-energy door options use minimal power to operate and establish a tight, secure seal to conserve energy.

  1. Safety

With over 50 billion safe automatic door openings and closings every year in the United States alone, automatic doors hold an exceptional safety record. When properly installed, inspected annually by certified inspectors, and safety-checked daily by premise owners, automatic doors consistently provide safe, convenient access for everyone. 

 

  1. ADA Compliance and Access for the Elderly

Automatic doors allow businesses to welcome everyone entering, regardless of their physical capabilities, with an accommodating, open door.

Significantly, millions of Americans are disabled and this number grows as the average population age increases. The Americans with Disabilities Act is effective in guaranteeing that handicapped people are properly served. This means they should be able to enter any building with little effort, in spite of their physical disability. Elderly people, whether suffering from a handicap or not, often fall into a category of people who are unable to easily open manual doors independently. So they benefit greatly from the law as well.

After this law was passed, it became necessary for many businesses to install automatic doors to become ADA-compliant. 

  1. So Many Options

When you choose automatic doors, you don’t have to sacrifice form for function. With so many different colors, finishes, and designs to select from, it’s easy to find an automatic door that enhances any business’s unique style. There are three basic types of automatic doors-swinging, sliding, and folding doors. Automatic swinging doors have a variety of configurations, including a single door that swings in or out and is left-handed or right-handed, and a pair of doors that simultaneously swing in the same direction. The door operator is concealed or surface-applied. The doors are center-pivoted, offset hung, balanced, or hinged. Automatic swinging doors also feature sensors or control mats and safety signage. Automatic folding doors are comprised of two or more separate panels; one-panel swings, and the other panel slides in a guide. Automatic folding doors may include a single folding door that folds in or out and is left-handed or right-handed; or a pair of doors simultaneously folding in or out, either left-handed or right-handed. Automatic sliding doors have flat panels that slide horizontally and linearly, with a variety of configurations. Their other features are similar to the ones described for swinging automatic doors, and they also include sensors or control mats as well as safety signage. 

  1. Customers Prefer Automatic Doors

Survey results prove that an overwhelming majority of customers prefer and place a high level of importance on automatic doors. A recent consumer research study showed that 98.9 percent of consumers who expressed a preference between automatic and manual doors prefer automatic doors. Research participants indicated that it was most important for automatic doors to be used at hospitals, airports, hotels/motels, shopping mall entrances, and retail stores. The survey also found that many consumers desire automatic doors in places they aren’t typically found today. When participants were asked to name specific locations where doors are essential yet not usually present, they told researchers they should be installed more frequently at shopping malls, hotels/ motels, and post offices.

 

  1. Convenience

An automatic door entrance does away with the aggravation and struggle associated with opening a heavy, manual door and instantly demonstrates to users the establishment they are entering cares about their convenience. In a recent consumer research study, participants were asked if automatic doors were perceived as a minimal level of service from a business establishment, most respondents suggested it was a convenience that should be offered by a business. Many went on to say that automatic doors are especially important because they show good customer service and provide access for the elderly, handicapped, and those with children in tow. Respondents also stated what they liked best about automatic doors is their convenience and ease of use. Some explained that a key advantage of automatic doors is they can be opened without the use of hands, which can sometimes be filled with packages, children, and luggage.

 

Cressy Door and Fireplace’s Pedestrian Door Division consists of a team of certified Seattle storefront and commercial door sales and installation experts that are trained to assess, evaluate and install the multitude of products we sell. We offer Tacoma, Bellevue, Kent, Everett, Renton, and Seattle storefront doors, commercial wood and metal doors, and other specialty pedestrian doors to fit your needs. We are proud to represent the best brands in the industry including Besam, CECO, Eliason, Republic, Curries, Amweld, Steelcraft, Timely, Western Integrated and Lynden. We offer 24×7 emergency service, 365 days a year on your Seattle area storefront and commercial pedestrian doors.