CHOOSING YOUR DOORWAY BARRIER
Air curtain, strip curtain or vestibule .
Cold-chain operators weigh three options for cold room entrances. Each has a role. They are not equivalent. The right choice depends on traffic volume, hygiene requirements, available space, and how much the seal really matters to refrigeration load.
RECOMMENDED
PVC strip curtains
Vestibule (lobby)
Cold room air curtain
Aerodynamic seal
Low-cost physical barrier
Physical double-door enclosure
Inexpensive to fit; immediate physical barrier.
Up to 80% reduction in doorway energy loss (correctly specified).
Effective physical separation if doors are disciplined.
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Can cut cooling cost by ~40% in low- traffic settings.
~65% air-infiltration reduction vs open single door.
Only ~23% infiltration reduction in real use (AMCA).
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Degrade, discolour and brittle within months in busy walk-ins.
Unrestricted access for staff, trolleys and pallet trucks.
Up to 10% less efficient than a properly specified air curtain.
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Staff tie them back for trolley access — seal lost.
Easy to clean; hygienic finishes available for food / pharma.
Expensive to build and rarely practical in retrofit retail layouts.
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Obstruct sight-lines; manual handling and slip risk.
Door-switch and BMS integration for measurable control.
Consumes valuable back-of-house floor space.
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Difficult to clean to BRC / SALSA food- safety standards.
Built-in frost protection on Thermoscreens cold store units.
~ Common at building entrances; less suited to cold rooms.
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Best for: any busy retail, food, pharma or industrial walk-in. Typical payback 1–3 years.
Best for: low-traffic, low-spec walk-ins where capital cost is the only criterion.
Best for: new-build building entrances, not retrofit cold room doorways.
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