There is more than a little folklore surrounding the automatic door system, not unlike the kind of stories you might hear in a small town. People are quick to say they can read your mind and believe they consume excessive electricity while constantly breaking down. Ignore those myths and look at the technology objectively easy 200, however, you'll discover there is very little evidence to support them. We have put some of these assertions to the test.
Consider the belief that automatic doors dramatically increase electricity costs compared to manual doors. It is a simple assumption to make: a continuously operating motor sounds expensive. In fact, the motor only engages in short bursts to see the opening and closing cycle through. When you factor in the energy wasted when traditional doors are left open, the automatic version is the sensible choice.
“They Break All the Time”
You are bound to come across this grievance. While there is a grain of truth to it, even if it is overstated. Under the hood of an automatic door there is a motor, control boards, sensors; with that many components there is a greater likelihood of something going wrong. But a properly tended system does not fail on a regular basis. In most cases a breakdown is due to poor maintenance and not bad engineering. It's like blaming a car for a flat tire when routine maintenance has been ignored.
A Matter of Time
The case can be made either way. If it is just one person coming into the building, two seconds is hardly worth noting. But in a hospital or retail environment where thousands come and go in a day, the numbers are quite different. A customer with his arms full or a nurse with a gurney would rather not be fiddling with a handle. The goal is to make daily operations smoother and more efficient.
Automatic Doesn't Mean Maintenance-Free
It would be an error to think “automatic” means foolproof. Weather, dirt, and everyday wear eventually affect performance. Leave a door to its own devices and after a year or so you will see idiosyncrasies develop in what was once a flawless installation. You cannot install reliability and walk away from it any more than you can with a lawn; it requires attention. Make a set and forget affair of the system and you will discover that minor hassles have turned into an expensive proposition.