What Can a Residential Air Curtain Do For Your Home?

An air curtain or air door by Refresh Fans is a porous device used essentially to prevent contaminants or air from moving in and out of a room. The primary use is typically a downward-face, downward-sloping fan mounted above or next to an opening in a structure, such as an indoor pool, or between two rooms cooled at different temperatures. They are often found in areas such as the top of a chimney or a ductwork. In some cases they are used in conjunction with a dehumidifier.

• Air curtains and doors are very efficient cooling systems. They can lower the temperature of a room by as much as 25 degrees and in some cases may be able to reduce condensation. This means that when using an air conditioner or even a swamp cooler, an air curtain will help regulate the temperature in a home by pulling in cooler air from the outside, whilst allowing the warm air from inside to escape through a window or door.

• Air curtain may also draw in hot air from the outdoors, but these doors can keep this warm air inside and reduce the amount of time it takes to reach the desired temperature. If there is any excess humidity in the air however, the door may be able to reduce this by drawing the humidity up into the room, thereby lowering the temperature.

• These doors are particularly useful in preventing insects and rodents from entering a home or business. Mice and rats have a particularly adverse affect on equipment, fabrics and fabric finishes that are not treated, such as window treatments. It is common for pest control companies to place air curtains or doors on doors in order to get rid of these pests. In addition, heat, moisture and a lack of ventilation are the primary causes of various insects entering a building.

• Some homeowners choose to use air curtains to keep out the heat from the kitchen during the winter months. This can be done by using a door with an air curtain as the cold air will enter the kitchen through this door and then blow out through the side or back of the curtains.

• Air curtains can also be used in bathrooms, particularly when the bathroom is positioned next to another room that has an external fireplace. Fireplaces may have a blower fan, which will require ventilation, but this can be solved by installing curtains in the bathroom doorway to divide the room from the fireplace. This way, any warmth will not escape through the fireplace and will instead go up the chimney to be absorbed by the curtains.

• Some people use these air curtains for protection purposes as well. They can be placed outside doors and windows, which may have been overlooked when completing the property. If there are many items of furniture outside, then one or two outside air curtains can be placed in a hallway or porch to prevent flying insects entering through these areas. This works especially well when dealing with pesky insects such as mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are known to carry many diseases, which is why it is best to prevent them from entering inside the house.

• Another great reason to use a residential air curtain is for controlling insect movement. This can be especially beneficial for people who live in areas with hot summers and cold winters. Some insects move very slowly during certain seasons, which makes them difficult to catch by surprise. Using a variable speed dehumidifier on the outside of the home will help keep these slow moving insects away from the doors and windows, where they can easily damage things.