October 1, 2014

Aire Time
888-321-2473
www.poweredaire.com
FOR ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS
POWERED AIRE INC.
10-2014
8-10
Your Source For Information on Powered Aire Curtains
Air Curtain timeline
EVOLUTION meets ART
Why would I want an ugly While his plans for accomplishing this are a bit extreme by tobox over my door?
At one time this statement
could hardly warrant a comeback. After all, it’s hard to knock
the truth. A combination of motors and fans in a metal box blew
air to the ground and helped
separate air from one side of a
door opening to the other. The
technology was innovative but
it’s safe to assume that performance was favored over appearance.
day’s standards (he envisioned
a single-file passageway of air
blasts), the air curtain concept
was born.
An inventor, Van Kannel is
better known for inventing the
revolving door, but even he saw
the need for what he describes
as this “new and useful improvement.” In his patent application
dated Nov. 8, 1904, he assigns
much importance to wind and
dust, the latter of which was
Circumstances tend to change likely caused by those early dirt
over time and so have air cur- streets. He writes: “The damtains. Air curtains have evolved age occasioned by the entrance
from utilitarian purposes to a of dust through such a doorway
virtual work of art in some cas- is very great and has in average
stores been estimated at several
es!
thousand dollars per season.”
Maybe you’ve never seen
While it is not known how well
an air curtain, or think they are
only for very specific applica- Van Kannel’s draft excluder was
tions. In fact, air curtains aren’t received, the concept remained
a new concept. They are a lot viable, albeit low key through
older than everyone reading the next 50 years. The novelty
of an open doorway covered by
this article!
a curtain of air piqued interest
The year was 1904. Cy Young when Compressed Air Magazine
of the Boston Americans threw published a feature story on
the first perfect game in the “Curtains of Air” in its October
modern era of baseball. The 1961 edition, calling attention
first underground New York City to several of the estimated 150
Subway line opened, and Theo- American air curtain installaphilus Van Kannel of New York tions at that time. The article
received a patent on a “Means makes a logical assessment of
for Excluding Drafts From Open the device, stating, “While the
Doorways.” In short, this was a door is always closed, it is also
“chamber from which air is pro- always open.”
Continued on back
jected toward the doorway.”
Early inventor Theophilus Van Kannel’s vision
for excluding drafts from door openings involved directional blasts of air (below) through
narrow passageways at a store’s entrance
(above).
SOURCE: U.S. Patent Office
Visit us at the 2015 AHR Expo, Jan. 26-28 in Chicago
BOOTH 6515
For more information call Powered Aire at 888-321-2473 or visit www.poweredaire.com
Continued from Cover
Highlighing the article are two
prominent retail applications, the
Bank of St. Louis, where people
“stop and stare, not so much at the
gleaming marble and glass front,
but at the doors--or rather the lack
of doors.” The other is the 33-ft.
long air curtain that spanned the
entrance to the now defunct Lazarus Department Store in Columbus, OH, which was installed in
1957 and touted as having an air
flow that “does not flip a skirt or
mess a hairdo.”
As air curtains entered the mainstream HVAC market it became
important that industry standards
be developed for performance and
safety. In 2008, the Air Movement
and Control Association International, Inc. (AMCA) released its Application Manual for Air Curtains to
assist those who primarily buy and
specify fan-related products.
If the question back then was
‘why’ have an air curtain, the
question today is....why not!
Practical use saw early air curtains
typically housed in bare or painted
metal cases. That changed in 1997
when Powered Aire Inc. unveiled
its line of attractive and corrosionresistent stainless steel units.
Powered Aire also pushed the
boundaries of air curtain development by incorporating a built-in
plenum. This feature ensures that a
uniform stream of air is discharged
This 33 ft. long air curtain was a novelty
when it was installed in the Lazarus Department Store in Columbus, OH in 1957.
Flash forward to 2014, when a
30 ft. long air curtain is a natural
choice to protect open doors at a
recreational facility.
across the full width and height of
Those who want the benefit of
the opening, and it also helps to an air curtain but wish it was out
lessen the unit’s operational noise. of sight need to wish no longer.
Air curtains, such a Powered Aire’s
Visually, air curtains have evolved Chameleon models, are one-piece
over time from being a noisy, non- units that are installed above the
descript box over a door to an aes- ceiling. A decorative intake/disthetically pleasing accessory that charge screen is the only visible
helps save energy, prevents intru- feature.
sion of insects and is complementary to architecture and interior
design.
Customers no longer have to be
satisfied with metal or drab paint.
Stainless steel offers a clean look
while powder coating provides a
colorful finish.
A new age of air curtains has
dawned in the form of custom personalization. Have a favorite photo,
sports team or company logo, or
wish that your air curtain would
blend into a woodgrain wall? No
problem. Powered Aire offers custom Design Graphics -- so let your
imagination run wild!
From their humble invention in
1904, air curtains have evolved in
performance, functionality and appearance, earning them the distinction of being a must-have product
in the HVAC industry in 2014.
Powered Aire’s
new Custom
Design Graphics™
provides endless
possibilities for Air
Curtain Art!
‘St. Louis Skyline’
‘Made in the USA’