What is door automation?
Door automation comes in many forms: sliding, swinging, rotating. But the thing that unites them is their function of opening the door for you, so you don’t have to. In commercial offices and retail premises, automatic doors are increasingly common. And for good reason! They deliver a whole raft of benefits for businesses and your customers. In this blog, we’ll highlight ten benefits that make door automation a worthwhile investment.
What kind of businesses need door automation?
Put simply: anyone with a door can benefit from door automation. So that’s office spaces, demo rooms, retail premises, butchers, bakers, candlestick makers – the whole lot. Whether your business needs better security, improved accessibility, or smoother flows of foot traffic, door automation delivers the solution you need.
Top 10 benefits of door automation
1 – Better accessibility
The world is a difficult place to exist when you’re disabled or less mobile. And automatic doors are a game-changer. They give people like wheelchair users the ability to get around safely, smoothly, and independently. And for commercial premises, automatic doors contribute to regulatory compliance such as the rules set out in the Equality Act 2010.
2 – Improved customer experience
What sounds better? You arrive at a shop in the cold and rain. You push the door. It doesn’t budge. Must be a pull door. You pull it. The handle is cold, your hair is wet, and you have to juggle your shopping bags while shimmying through the door way. Or, you approach the shop. An infrared sensor detects your presence and triggers the door to open smoothly. You walk straight in, ready to shop.
I know which one I’d prefer!
3 – Better hygiene & less physical contact
Our awareness of germs and hygiene has been on another planet since COVID. We’re all hyper-alert to the risk of spreading diseases. And shared surfaces is one of the big contributors to that spread. But with automatic doors, there’s no need to touch the door regardless of whether it pushes or pulls open. And if you combine it with trigger sensors or infrared buttons, there’s no need to touch anything at all.
4 – Energy efficiency
Somewhere between 10% and 20% of internal heat is lost through doors and windows. That’s energy loss that your business is paying for. One study by Cambridge University found that shops keeping the doors open results in double the energy bills. One significant benefit of automatic doors is that they only open when they’re really needed. That keeps heat in and makes the building more energy-efficient and, most importantly, cost-efficient.
5 – Security & access control
Door automation systems like DIGIWAY link seamlessly to access control solutions. So if you haven’t got the right tag, card, keypad, or fingerprint, not only is the door not unlocking for you, it’s staying resolutely shut. And that ensures that only authorised individuals can gain access to restricted areas.
6 – Increased operational efficiency
Some businesses are busy places. In retail premises, for example, you might have particular high-traffic doors that see hundreds of people pass through in a day. Or in an office building, when everybody downs tools at the same time and tries to get out of the building at 4:59pm, you might see bottlenecks. Automatic doors make those high traffic zones work more smoothly and more efficiently – which also means more safely.
7 – Professional appearance
A smooth and reliable entrance just makes you look good. Discreet door operators that don’t judder or hum and crackle when they operate make your business look like a professional operation. It’s all part of that wider brand message and reputation that tells your customers that you’re an outfit worth buying from.
8 – Durability & reliability
Automatic doors mean nobody needs to push or pull a handle, wearing down the paint and loosening screws. It means people aren’t pushing the door with undue force, damaging the hinges. It means everything around your door will last longer in good condition. And as for the door operator itself? Well, we’ve tested DIGIWAY SR for more than two million opens, and it’s still going strong (no, really, it’s in a corner of our factory in Italy opening and closing all day and all night). If we say a door might open 100 times a day, those two million opens would last you more than 55 years!
9 – Cost savings over time
Energy efficiency = cost efficiency. The more your doors are closed, the more the heat stays in and the cold stays out. And that means your heating system doesn’t have to work so hard and you’re keeping your bills to a minimum. Plus, it means your business needs less staff. Where once upon a time you might have had doormen, front-of-house teams, or 24/7 receptionists, access control and door automation can do it all for you.
10 – Future-proofing and integration
There are so many ways to expand and improve your door automation solution. Here are just a few ideas:
- Trigger sensors to automatically make the door open when a person approaches.
- Integrating with your fire alarm system to improve emergency preparedness.
- Further improve accessibility with our DW-TLC disabled toilet door system.
Conclusion
Door automation improves convenience for your customers. It saves you time and money and makes your buildings run smoother. It’s a smart and sound investment for business of all kinds and all sizes.
