High-Speed Doors vs. Traditional Options: Which Is Right for Your Warehouse?

When it comes to industrial storage facility access solutions we hear a lot of chatter about modern high-speed doors and how they are superior to traditional or conventional industrial doors. As a business owner, you might be sitting on the fence when considering an upgrade. Most often, the significantly higher up-front costs of high-speed doors might act as a deterrent, but you need to consider a number of factors in addition to cost while making a decision.

In this blog, we make a clear assessment of traditional and contemporary options, laying out the features of both and giving you all the information that you need to decide which suits you better.

Traditional Industrial Doors

Conventional industrial doors have been serving their primary purpose for decades, allowing access to warehouses and distribution centres and keeping them safe from external elements. Their operating mechanism varies between hinged, sliding, and sectional, offering varying degrees of efficiency. While hinged doors swing horizontally on hinges and sliding doors move horizontally on tracks, sectional doors are made of interconnected panels that move vertically up and down. Usually made of metal, they are strong, durable and customizable, and offer good return on investment. They need to be opened and closed manually, which is usually a time-consuming operation.

Modern Industrial Doors

High-speed industrial warehouse doors are performance powerhouses, offering far superior speed, efficiency, and security compared to traditional ones. They operate at high speeds, opening and closing at rates of 1 m/s or more. They are made from lightweight materials like PVC-coated polyester fabric, which provide just as much strength and durability as traditional materials. They are powered by geared motors and can be operated by a control panel, or remotely via radar or induction loop mechanism, making them completely automatic.

Advantages of High-Speed Doors over Traditional Doors

A high-speed industrial door provides much the same functionality as traditional doors, but there are several benefits that are not immediately apparent. We enumerate these features to show just how much an industrial facility gains by upgrading to the newer technology.

1. Speed: Modern warehouses and distribution centres witness enormous traffic of goods and personnel entering and departing their facilities. Industrial warehouse doors, therefore, need to open and close multiple times every day. High-speed doors offer more efficiency in terms of time and effort compared to their traditional counterparts, which helps in increasing productivity and streamlining operations.

• Life Expectancy: Because they have very few moving components like torsion springs, which wear out over time, automatic warehouse doors have a far higher life expectancy than traditional doors, easily achieving hundreds of door cycles (one complete opening and closing) per day and millions over their lifetime. This quality makes high-speed doors more suitable for industrial facilities that witness high volume traffic on a daily basis.

• Energy Efficiency: High-speed doors help in minimizing contact with external weather elements due to their fast action. The doors are also constructed of insulating material that prevent variations in the internal temperature settings of warehouses – a crucial requirement for temperature controlled storage facilities. This results in significant energy savings as well as reducing damage to temperature sensitive cargo. 

• Security: High-speed doors provide enhanced security against unauthorized access as well as harsh weather elements. Built of strong waterproof canvas with a Wind Class rating up to 5, these doors can withstand extremely strong winds loads, keeping both good and personnel secure against wind and rain storms. 

• Safety: The high speed industrial door is replete with safety features that keep both workers and cargo safe from untoward accidents. The door is equipped with an electric safety band and safety photo cell that trigger the operating mechanism to reverse the door’s downward movement when they sense an obstruction in their path. The door edges are also soft and flexible, preventing injuries due to accidental contact.

• Durability: We have already covered the strength, life expectancy, and durability against harsh weather elements of high-speed doors. A unique feature of high-speed industrial warehouse doors is their ability to repair themselves. If they are knocked out of their groove due to accidental collision with vehicles, they are capable of automatically resetting their path, something which traditional doors are incapable of.

• Maintenance: Due to their durability, self-reparability, and minimal moving parts, high-speed doors require very little maintenance. An annual maintenance check carried out by authorized personnel is sufficient to ensure that they provide long-lasting service.

• Cost Savings: As mentioned earlier, high-speed doors are more expensive than traditional doors initially. However, if you factor in the costs saved due to enhanced productivity, higher energy efficiency, lesser wastage of cargo due to damages caused by temperature fluctuations and exposure to unfavourable weather elements, lower repair and maintenance costs, and superior life expectancy, high-speed doors are far more cost-effective in the long run.

• Specialized Applications: Traditional doors are just not suitable for certain specialized industrial facilities such as cold storages and freezers, sterile clean rooms, and pharmaceutical storages. These facilities require highly stable environments, with absolutely no temperature variations or contact with external air and contaminants. For such facilities, high-speed doors are mandatory to maintain the hygiene and integrity of their contents.

Selecting the Right Option for Your Facility

Now that you are aware of the features and limitations of traditional doors and the advantages of high-speed doors, your decision-making should be much easier. The type of door that you select for your facility is primarily dictated by factors such as the nature of your storage facility, the volume of traffic, scale of operation, and budgetary constraints. In addition, and no less important, are considerations of safety, security, durability, maintenance, and customizability. Bear in mind that if your facility does warrant installation of high-speed doors, your initial expenses, though higher, will be more than compensated in the long run.

About SAB TECH

SAB TECH is a leading manufacturer and supplier of high quality industrial facility access solutions. Designed to withstand extensive usage across diverse industrial applications including warehouses, logistics centres, supermarkets, hospitals, carwashes and more, the company’s high-speed roll-up doors and industrial sectional doors adhere to the highest standards of safety and efficiency. SAB TECH’s high speed industrial door solutions can also be customized with brand colours and come with a one-year warranty with spare parts. Get in touch with their experts today to learn more about how their access solutions can benefit your facility.