Loading Dock Seals Can Improve Energy Efficiency At Any Dock Area

Whether it’s a light volume operation or a facility receiving and shipping products 24/7 there are considerable financial savings to be made by investigating and improving energy efficiency at the loading dock area.

There are 3 major components to consider relative to energy efficiency at the loading dock; the use and configuration of the dock seal and shelter, the insulation rating of the overhead door and the use of the most effective weather seal for the overhead door and dock leveler.

For 35+ years Pentalift has been a trusted authority on developing, recommending and manufacturing high quality energy saving products and safety related products for the loading dock area.

There are 3 main product categories of dock seals; compression style foam pads, “back through” truck shelters for larger overhead doors and a complete line of inflatable dock seals and truck shelters. This link features an extensive line of energy saving products at the overhead door area. https://www.pentalift.com/. The attached video link clearly demonstrates the ability of an inflatable truck shelter to contour to the truck body shape further increasing an effective seal. https://www.pentalift.com/

The dock levelers in use at the loading dock may or may not have been originally supplied with a weather seal. Weather sealis designed to close the gap, approximately 1” wide between the sides of the dock leveler deck and the pit wall thereby minimizing energy loss. Confirmation should be made that the weather seal is in place and if so if the weather seal is still effective; consider upgrading to a brush weather seal if there are any evident gaps along the sides to further reduce energy costs. https://www.pentalift.com/PDF/Weatherseal.pdf

Hydraulic dock levelers are universally recognized as the safest and the most cost effective dock levelers available over the long run. EnergyMax is the most effective dock leveler weather seal available and can be installed on Pentalift hydraulic dock levelers or Pentalift air powered dock levelers. The EnergyMax weather seal system was recently introduced to conserve energy when the dock leveler is in both the operating and closed stored position. https://www.pentalift.com/PDF/EnergyMax%20Seal%206-25-18.pdf

Vertical storing dock levelers further promote energy savings at the loading dock area. As the name implies vertical storing dock levelers are stored upright behind the closed overhead door when not in use.This design allows the overhead door to seal tightly against the bottom of the pit minimizing energy loss. This eliminates the gaps around the front and down both sides of a pit model dock leveler when the overhead door is closed on top of the dock leveler platform. https://www.pentalift.com/PDF/VerticalStoring.pdf

For additional information on Pentalift energy saving products and Material Handling Equipment please contact the Pentalift Sales Department.

This article was originally published on Penalift’s blog and has been republished here with permission.