They are the perfect entrance for tall buildings and skyscrapers. Theophilus van Kannel invented the revolving door. He was granted the patent for the invention on August 7, The main purpose of this invention was to prevent strong drafts of wind from entering a building when a door was opened. So, the revolving door was designed to be energy-efficient. It worked and works to this day like an airlock. In other words, it prevents drafts of cold or hot air.
This invention helped to reduce the amount of energy use by the HVAC system. In some hinged doors, only a person can enter or exit at a time. But there is another part of the story. Allegedly, Theophilus van Kannel invented the revolving door for other reason. Despite the unequivocal benefits of using revolving doors, a MIT study found that only 20 to 30 percent of people use them when presented with the option.
A few years later, New York City designer Andrew Shea set out to remedy this trend on his own turf where he noticed similarly low utilization of revolving options. Shea posted signs at Columbia University touting the environmental gains of using revolving doors.
With his encouragement and some neat facts—like how revolving doors can save You may not be surprised to learn that he never married , but rather dedicated the rest of his life to improving his creation. You can still see some of the originals today. Just walk through the Loop or Streeterville: Plenty of the buildings date back to the early 20th century with classic revolving doors , including a few from the original Van Kannel Company.
The stack effect, or suction, comes from the air pressure differential between the inside and outside. On very cold days, that differential is extreme. Warm air collecting at the top of the elevator shafts is much lighter than the denser cold air at the base. The low pressure area pulls air into the first floor lobby and actually makes it difficult to pull swing doors open. As such, Loughran says tall buildings either need a revolving door or a vestibule with two sets of doors. Loughran explains that while revolving doors are more common in cooler climates, warm climates have their own version of this problem.
That can make it difficult to close outward swinging doors, allowing cooled air to escape. Whether the effect is pushing inward or outwards, as the doors reach the closed position, the air rushing through can be audible. Concerns about the stack effect in highrise buildings only partially explain why the revolving door is so common in the Chicago landscape.
As most of us know, rotating doors have the fame of being incredibly energy efficient. But why is it so? The inventor, Theophilus van Kannel, came with a design consisting of three to four wings hanging from a central shaft. These wings, therefore, rotate around this shaft, thus creating an airlock mechanism that prevents outside air from entering and exiting the premise. Because of this mechanism, rotating doors can prevent drafts, thus resulting in fewer heating or cooling losses. In other words, this type of door creates a Stack Effect pressure in buildings.
To avoid any problems with the swing doors or panels, they all come with a speed control system. That way, the door will rotate at a safe speed without it being too slow. Additionally, many people often think a leg or an arm can get caught in this door type.
Despite these urban legends, you should know that revolving doors also include a folding mechanism that will help release the limb. It is these types of features that prevent any harm to its users. Long story short, rotating doors often pose little to no threat to people.
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