Is Your Overhead Door Up to Speed?
If you manage an industrial facility you are aware of the importance of saving energy, time, and money in your building. The overhead doors that you use every day present you with an opportunity to increase the quality of work in your facility and enhance productivity during day-to-day operations.
An often overlooked component of Overhead Door performance is the speed in which the doors open and close. If you are looking to improve that performance, the first thing to look at should be whether you use standard commercial overhead doors or high-speed overhead doors. Standard commercial overhead doors can close at an average speed of 6 inches per second, whereas high-speed overhead doors can close at an average speed of 18 inches per second.
Lenworth’s high-performing, high-speed overhead doors can close at a speed of up to 96 inches per second. As a result, the time saved during every open/close cycle adds up to provide significant benefits for managers and their facility’s operations.
Comparing the Speed of Different Overhead Doors
| Time Saved Per Day | Time Saved Per Month | Time Saved Per Year | ||||||
| Type of Overhead Door | Average Speed | Time to Complete One Cycle | Low Cycle | High Cycle | Low Cycle | High Cycle | Low Cycle | High Cycle |
| Standard Commercial Overhead Doors | 6″/ per second | 40 s | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| High-Speed Overhead Doors | 18″/ per second | 13.3 s | 1 m 47 s | 3 m 33 s | 35 m 33 s | 1 h 11 m 7 s | 7 h 6 m 40 s | 14 h 13 m 20 s |
| High-Performing, High-Speed Overhead Doors |
96″/ per second | 2.5 s | 2 m 30 s | 5 m | 50 m | 1 h 40 m | 10 h | 20 h |
* Chart assumes an average of 4-8 open/close cycles per week, 80-160 open/close cycles per month, and 960-1,920 close cycles per year.
* Chart assumes an average door height of 10′
Why Does Overhead Door Speed Matter?
A matter of seconds may seem insignificant in a single open/close cycle. However, when you account for the amount of open/close cycles that occur in a work day, in a week, and even in a year, the difference becomes significant.
Having a low-speed overhead door wastes energy by allowing heated or cooled air to escape, wastes time that could be increasing productivity, and wastes money as a result of these factors. Investing upfront in a high-speed door saves a facility resources over time.
The Features of High-Speed Overhead Doors.
A high-speed overhead door can offer features that standard commercial overhead doors lack. The high-speed door market has been growing in recent years, which means there is a larger quantity of doors and a difference in quality among available selections. Virtually all high-speed doors Lenworth installs come equipped with the following features:
• Open/Close speeds of up to 96″ per second
• Direct-drive motor for seamless operation and minimal maintenance
• Self-repairing upon impact from goods or machines
The Benefits of High-Speed Overhead Doors.
In contrast to other types of industrial and commercial overhead doors in the market, high-speed doors have a number of advantages that can allow you to improve facility productivity and reduce air leakage. Key advantages of going high-speed include:
• Potentially significant improvements in operations efficiency
• Reduced heating and cooling costs
• Virtually maintenance free
• Eliminate the need for a service call if impacted by goods or machinery
Which Facilities Require High-Speed Overhead Doors?
A facility of any size can benefit from an overhead door that operates at a faster speed, however high-speed doors are especially recommended for high-volume facilities. High-volume facilities generally move more product, employ more people, and see larger returns on an investment that is capable of speeding up the daily flow of operations.
Save Faster.
Whoever said slow and steady won the race didn’t own an industrial facility. Win savings, win time back, and win productivity, by choosing a high-speed overhead door over a standard commercial overhead door. If you have existing standard doors in your facility, make the upgrade to a high-speed option.
Lenworth is proud to be a leader in the sales, service, and installation of all makes and models of high-speed overhead doors.
