In today’s world, saving energy is an important issue in all areas of life. In construction, it is crucial that buildings are as energy-efficient as possible. Energy-efficiency also regards the building’s doors.
According to Chief Technology Officer Baptiste de la Bouvrie, Champion Door’s doors are designed to meet specific standards according to European laws.
"The doors have to meet three criteria: first, air and water cannot get through them. Second, they have to withstand windy conditions. Third, they have to have thermal insulation. Champion Door’s doors meet the requirements, helping customers reduce costs as well as their building’s carbon footprint."
Champion Door’s fabric fold-up doors were designed to withstand the harsh weather conditions in Finland. Their structure mimics the traditional Nordic way of building: two layers of wood with air and wool in between. Champion Door’s NK2 fabric fold-up doors have two layers of fabric with air in between. NK4 doors have extra insulation – 100 % recyclable PSE carbon fiber wadding welded into the internal face of the door.
"The doors’ thermal performance is measured in terms of heat loss and is expressed as a U-value. The extra wadding brings the NK4 doors’ U-value down to just 0,57 W/m²K. NK2s also have a low U-value, only 1,5 W/m²K."
According to de la Bouvrie, customers are sometimes concerned about the insulation’s fire properties and weight. The wadding has the same fire properties as the fabric itself and it only adds about 300 – 400 grams of weight per m2 to the door. Champion Door recommends extra insulation on all doors delivered to countries that have specifically warm or cold climates.
"The insulation works exactly the same whether the air that we do not want inside the building is hot or cold. Warm air not getting out and cold air not getting in reduces costs and improves working conditions in colder countries, as does cool air not getting out and hot air not getting in in warm countries."
De la Bouvrie mentions that in addition to improved working conditions and reduced costs, Champion Door’s insulated doors are also important in terms of the activities done inside the building. In example, a French customer needed a door with optimal insulation to maintain a certain level of humidity in their workspace.
"The customer was doing different kinds of paint work in the building. Low humidity and high humidity can both damage the paint surface. Our insulated doors help guarantee that our customer is able to produce a high-quality product, to keep staff comfortable, cut down utility costs while saving valuable."