Yes – air curtains can meaningfully cut cold store energy costs
By reducing air exchange between the cold store and the ambient loading area, a cold store air curtain lowers the workload placed on refrigeration systems. Less warm air gets in, less cold air escapes, and the compressor spends less time and energy recovering lost temperature after every door opening. Over the course of a year, that adds up to a measurable reduction in running costs.
Why open doorways are such an energy drain
Refrigeration systems are sized and controlled to maintain a set-point temperature. Every unprotected door opening introduces a temperature swing that the system then has to correct for. In a cold store handling continuous logistics traffic, this isn't an occasional event. The refrigeration plant is regularly working outside its optimal, steady-state load.
The bigger the temperature differential between the cold store and the ambient area (often 30–40°C between a frozen store and a loading bay) the more energy it takes to recover from each exchange of air.
How a cold store air curtain reduces that load
A cold store air curtain produces a controlled, high-velocity stream of air across the doorway, forming an air barrier that keeps the two climates separated even while the door is open. Because staff, forklifts and pallet trucks can move straight through this barrier without needing to stop and operate a physical door, the doorway stays in constant logistical use while the temperature behind it stays largely protected.
Biddle's MAT cold store air curtain uses Multi Air Stream Technology: three air streams working together to create a screen between the cold store and the ambient space, engineered specifically for the larger temperature differentials found in full-scale cold storage. In practice, MAT installations have achieved energy savings of up to 80% compared with an equivalent electrical unit, by using waste heat from cooling machinery (the MAT Hybrid model) rather than relying purely on electrical input. Compared with an unprotected open doorway, air curtain installations have achieved average energy savings in the region of 52%.
For smaller or more constant-temperature applications, chilled rooms in production facilities, distribution centres, or smaller in-store cold areas, a unit like Biddle's IsolAir2 delivers efficient climate separation without requiring heating, keeping energy consumption to a minimum while still allowing the doorway to remain in use.
Energy savings aren't the only return
Lower energy costs tend to come bundled with other operational benefits:
- Reduced strain on refrigeration equipment, as compressors cycle less frequently and less severely, which can extend equipment life and reduce maintenance costs
- Lower risk of product spoilage, since more stable temperatures reduce the chance of goods drifting out of their required range
- Faster logistics, because staff and vehicles aren't waiting on doors to open and close
Getting the return you'd expect
The energy savings an air curtain delivers depend heavily on correct specification; doorway size, temperature differential, frequency and duration of door use, and whether the application is a full cold store or a smaller chilled room all affect which unit is appropriate. An undersized or poorly matched air curtain won't deliver anywhere near its potential savings, which is why getting the specification right at the outset matters as much as the technology itself.