Energy Efficient Air Curtains for Industrial Gates in Cold Climates

¹ Research Institute of Building Physics Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences NIISF RAASN, Moscow, Russia
² Engineer Research and Development Center Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Champaign, Illinois, USA

^* Corresponding author: Alexander.M.Zhivov@usace.army.mil

Abstract

In geographical areas with cold climates, large, massively constructed industrial and warehouse buildings and logistics complexes are large consumers of energy resources. The great height and large contained volumes of the premises, the presence of a significant number of doors, and building configurations that include many transport corridors all require the use of air-thermal curtains to increase the energy efficiency of the buildings’ heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, which commonly produce several thousand kilowatts of thermal power. Optimization of air curtains can improve the microclimates of the premises, achieve savings in the initial construction costs, and also reduce energy consumption during operation by 10–20%.