Most importantly, before you specify a certain automatic sliding or swing door for a hospital, school or other commercial business you should understand the different types of automatic doors available and the regulations that apply to them. When an automatic door is properly selected, installed and maintained, they provide ease of use, secure access and reduced heating and air conditioning costs.
The ANSI/BHMA 156.10-2017 – The Standard for Power Operated Pedestrian Doors provides details and specifications for installation that have been designed to provide a safe, properly functioning automatic door system. For instance, the standard contains data with respect to least / greatest acceptable measurements, force, speeds, and components.
Whereas ANSI/BHMA A156.10-2017 applies to full power automatic door systems, a related standard, ANSI/BHMA A156.19-2013, American National Standard for Power Assist and Low Energy Power Operated Doors, provides similar information for low energy operator systems.
Automatic Sliding Doors:
For Example, automatic sliding doors provide effective two-way traffic. Sliding doors are equipped with a safety feature that when pushed on, the panel of the sliding door will swing out into the exit discharge. This feature, known as “breakout” or “breakaway”, qualifies them to be used in locations that require emergency egress capability. Sliding doors are offered in various configurations. For example, you will find traditional biparting, single slide and telescoping models. Comparatively, these doors require an adequate amount of slide room in which the door can move.
Automatic Swinging doors:
These entrance systems require enough slide room where the door can go. Ordinarily, when an automated swing door is used, they are installed as pairs. Typically, one swings in and the other swings out. This enables two-way traffic. You wouldn’t typically have two-way traffic through a one automatic swinging door. The exception is a low-energy swing operator that has different characteristics than a fully automatic door. To indicate the direction of travel it is important that these pairs of doors are well marked.
Safety zones for swinging doors are covered in Section 8.1.2 of ANSI A156.10. Requirements are set up for various applications. Coupled with the prerequisites this will dictate the type of sensors to be utilized. There are two kinds of sensors for automatic doors, overhead mount and entryway mount. Every sensor has various qualities and size patterns. Equally, depending on low energy or high will dictate the need for guide rails, sensors or control mats and signage.
Regardless of the kind of entryway, the entrance system should be installed so that traffic moves toward the door system in full view of other pedestrians. People must be able to identify how the door operates by having clear and concise signage. Avoid any obstacles within four feet of the opening. Even though there are numerous types of automatic doors they aren’t all suitable for all applications.
Contact us today. Our team is AAADM certified so we can help you with the design and application for your automatic sliding or swing door operators that will be best suited for the building you are designing. In short, let us be your strategic partner in all your door needs.
