Motorway service areas in the UK have the highest visitor footfall for service stations in Europe, and Dimplex is helping to keep the environment out at 10 motorway service areas run by Extra MSA Services Ltd, by installing a selection of its CAB range of air curtains.

Each Extra MSA Services site sees a minimum of around 3,000 people through its doors every day. The automatic doorways are open for much of the day, leaving the service areas open to features of the motorway environment such as noise, pollution, dust and cold draughts.

Installation of the Dimplex CAB air curtains have been completed in locations fron Devon to Lancashire. The Chesterfield services area on the M1 presented a particular challenge, as it has an unusual layout, meaning that there are a minimum of two doors open during service hours, creating a through draught and a high rate of heat loss.

The Dimplex air curtains were specified and installed by Lincoln-based DC Electricals, which managed the electrical refurbishment of the multiple sites. Specifier Doug Clarke comments: "The Dimplex air curtains are substantial enough to produce the airflow the sites needed, but they are good-looking units and fit well with the modern, clean feel of the service areas."

Mr Clarke adds: "Product servicing and maintenance were also part of the reason that Dimplex air curtains were specified for this project, as any work can only take place at night when the services are closed. However, because Dimplex air curtains have a proven record of reliability, this inconvenience is minimised."

Steve Crawford, Services Manager at Extra MSA Services, comments: "Once they're installed, even with the large volumes of air circulated in these service areas, all the units really need is a service and clean once a year. We installed the first units last autumn at Chesterfield services on the M1, and they worked well over the winter using heated air. In recent months we've been using them on the unheated air setting, and they've proved just as efficient. Although it's a retrofit, you really can't tell they haven't been there since day one."

The Extra MSA Services sites benefited from the flexibility of the modular Dimplex air curtains, using both 1 and 1.5m long units, fitted in pairs to cover doorways ranging in size up to 3m in width, giving a total heat output of up to 27kW.