This is a contributed post
Ventilation is essential for the health and wellbeing of those who work or live within a building and with advances in technologies, more people and businesses than ever are looking to window actuators to deliver effective ventilation.
Used in a wide range of buildings from factories, schools, warehouses, and restaurants to care homes, offices and hotels, window actuators can be an efficient way to automate the opening and closing of your windows.
Whether it’s for a new build, renovation project or to add to existing openings, it’s important to select the right window actuators for your requirements.
What Types of Windows Do You Have?
Whether the building has the same style of windows throughout or different windows that will need to be accommodated, there are a variety of actuators available that can be used.
Side Hung Windows: A chain drive actuator would be a suitable option, depending on the required free area but if this is limited then folding arm or slit actuators can also be used.
Top Hung Windows: These types of windows that open outwards and hang from the top most often require a chain actuator but if the window is larger or heavier than a folding arm actuator can be used as an alternative.
Bottom Hung Windows: These are usually controlled by a chain actuator but again in circumstances where the window is too big or heavy for a chain then a folding arm can be a more effective choice.
Rising Sash Windows: These can be automated using either linear or slit actuators which if well executed can deliver neat and unobtrusive automation of these traditional style windows.
What is the Load of Your Windows?
The total weight or load of a window can vary greatly depending on the style, design, size, materials, fixtures, thickness of the glass and so on.
Whatever actuator you choose must be capable of carrying the windows weight so ideally, you’d be looking for one with a load carrying capacity higher than the windows actual weight. Doing so will help to ensure that the mechanism remains durable whilst sustaining higher efficiency of movement.
Stroke Length
Quite simply put this is the amount that the window is opened and how far it is pushed or pulled by the actuator. For example, windows that only require to be opened half way can achieve so using shorter stroke lengths than those that need to opened fully or bigger windows will require a larger linear actuator.
Purpose
Any equipment has a duty cycle which is impacted by how often it is used as well as the temperature, stress and friction that is put on it over time. A window actuator should be able to perform its duties effectively without suffering damage or failure.
Window automation is extremely useful and can be utilised in a number of different ways depending on the building, it’s function and who uses it. If the window actuators are in place to make a couple of higher up or hard to reach windows easier to open and close on the odd occasion, then a standard window actuator should be sufficient. If, however, the actuator is on windows that are set to open and close multiple times a day, then one with a high-capacity duty cycle should be used.
Leave a Reply