At first glance, louvers in commercial doors seem pretty inconsequential. If you think about the doors in your building, you may not remember if they even have louvers.
Louvers aren’t a feature that gets a lot of attention, but the truth is that they can be an exceptionally beneficial addition to your commercial doors. As you plot the details of the next door you order, consider some of the great reasons for adding louvers.
When you purchase a door, you can choose to have it made with a louver kit installed. A louver is a vent in the door with horizontal slats to provide airflow.
Louvers come in different sizes ranging from a small 12x12 louver on the lower part of the door to a 24x60 louver that takes up a large portion of the door’s surface.
Of course, the larger the louver, the more airflow. You may adjust the slats or blades of the louver to allow in more air and light. This adjustability plays a major role in the five benefits that louvers offer:
It’s important to ensure that anyone working or visiting your facility breathes quality air. One of the best ways to do this is to take steps to create good airflow. Much of this is done through your HVAC system, but it can help to think of louvers as a passive supplement to active HVAC pressure.
A solid door won’t allow any airflow. This impediment could prevent air from reaching indoor returns where it can go through your building’s filtration systems. Louvers can also help prevent hot and cold spots that poor HVAC planning can create without good airflow.
Computer rooms, lab facilities, and other areas within your building may need to be kept at an optimal temperature. At the same time, these rooms must also be kept secure. That can be challenging if you choose doors without louvers. The heat generated by equipment inside the room has nowhere to go, and cooler air can’t flow inside.
By adding a louvered door, you allow for better temperature control. Increased airflow keeps the room comfortable for your employees and safe for sensitive computer equipment. Since you can also fit louvered doors with security hardware, they are ideal for access control in rooms where temperatures vary.
Stale or unpleasant odors can accumulate in utility closets, patient rooms, restrooms, storage areas, and kitchens. If you install louvered doors, you provide a way for that smelly air to escape and be replaced by fresher air.
This ventilation leads to a much more pleasant space for workers, customers, and patients. It’s a simple improvement that can help increase productivity and morale.
Sometimes, it isn’t the equipment in your facility that needs to be protected from unauthorized view. It’s the people. There are many situations where patients, students, workers, and others have a heightened expectation of privacy.
At the same time, you want to ensure that everyone in your building has access to fresh, well-ventilated air. When you choose doors with louvers, you provide necessary privacy while also helping to maintain high standards of air quality.
Fire doors save lives and keep people from being injured in the event of a fire. Many people assume that fire doors can’t have louvers and still be effective. Nothing could be further from the truth.
If you want your fire doors to include louvers, we can fit them with special hardware called a fusible link louver. The fusible link is a special material that melts at high temperatures. This melting causes the louver blades to close in a fire, preventing smoke or flames from passing.
Louvers are a relatively inexpensive accessory to add to your commercial doors. When you use them, you improve air quality and temperature across your workplace. Check out CDF Distributors’ custom Build a Quote tool to see how easy ordering a door with louvers can be for your company.
Once you’ve built your custom door, you can have it shipped directly to your facility. If you have questions about louvers or other features, our experts are always available to answer your calls.