The Energy Behind PVC: From Manufacturing to Everyday Use

When you hear energy efficiency, what comes to mind? Solar panels? Renewable energy? Lower utility bills? Energy-efficient equipment? Reducing energy consumption? Those are all parts of the conversation. 

For Energy Awareness Month, we're looking at energy from a different perspective, following it through a product's lifecycle. From the energy involved in PVC manufacturing and the sources that power our operations to the role finished ALECO products can play in reducing unnecessary air exchange and maintaining more controlled environments during everyday use. 

Looking Beyond Single-Use Plastics

When we hear the word plastic, it's easy to think of disposable products designed to be used once and thrown away. But not all plastics are used in the same way and understanding that difference is important when considering their environmental impact. 

PVC, or vinyl, is used across a wide range of applications – many of which are designed for extended use rather than single-use consumption. Industrial products and other PVC applications can remain in service for years or even decades. The Vinyl Institute reports that nearly 70% of PVC is used in applications with an expected service life of 15 to more than 100 years. 

When a PVC product does reach the end of its original application, that does not necessarily mean the material has reached the end of its useful life. PVC can be recycled and reprocessed into new products. More than 1.1 billion pounds of PVC are recycled annually in the United States and Canada, according to the Vinyl Institute. 

Recyclable, however, does not always mean recycled. Whether a finished PVC product is recovered depends on factors including its formulation, condition, contamination, collection and sorting capabilities, and access to appropriate recycling programs. 

Looking at PVC throughout its lifecycle provides a more complete picture than simply identifying it as plastic. How long a product remains useful, how effectively it performs its intended application, and what happens to the material afterward all contribute to the larger sustainability conversation. 

Durability Is Part of the Picture, Too

For products intended for long-term use, durability becomes an important part of the overall environmental impact. Products suited to the demands of their application may require less frequent replacement, helping extend the useful life of the material and reducing the need for additional products over time. 

For PVC strip doors, that starts with selecting the right product for the application. Temperature, traffic type and frequency, opening size, strip thickness, and overlap can all influence performance. Choosing the appropriate PVC formulation, strip size, and configuration helps ensure the strip door is suited to the conditions it will encounter. 

For help choosing the right stripping material, strip size, and configuration for your application, use our Strip Door Selector Tool or contact us at info@aleco.com.

How ALECO's Manufacturing is Powered

At ALECO by ES ROBBINS, our involvement in PVC manufacturing extends from raw materials and formulation through extrusion and the finished product. As a vertically integrated manufacturer, we manage these stages within our manufacturing process, giving us greater control over how our PVC products are formulated and produced for their intended applications.  

Manufacturing these products requires energy, so the sources used to generate electricity are another part of understanding their broader energy footprint. Our manufacturing facility is located in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, within the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power system. 

TVA generates electricity from a diverse mix of energy sources, including hydroelectric power. 

In fact, hydroelectricity has deep roots here in the Shoals. Nearby Wilson Dam is TVA's largest conventional hydroelectric facility, with 21 generating units and 663 megawatts of capacity. While hydropower is only one part of the broader mix supplying electricity to support manufacturing in our region, understanding where manufacturing energy comes from provides another piece of the larger energy-efficiency picture. 

Manufacturing is only one part of the equation. The role a product can play in energy efficiency continues once it is put to work.

How Strip Doors, Impact Doors, and Air Curtains Support Energy Efficiency

Once installed, a product's performance can influence how energy is used within a facility. For many ALECO products, that connection comes down to environmental separation – helping reduce unnecessary air exchange between spaces with different temperatures or environmental conditions. 

Every time an opening connects spaces with different temperatures or environmental conditions, air has an opportunity to move from one space to another. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, air infiltration accounts for more than 30% of the total heating load in U.S. commercial buildings, making control of unwanted air movement an important part of overall building efficiency. In facilities with frequently used doorways, refrigerated spaces, loading areas, or exterior entrances, reducing unnecessary air exchange can help maintain more consistent conditions and reduce the demand placed on heating, cooling, and refrigeration systems. 

PVC strip doors provide a flexible physical barrier at frequently used openings, helping reduce air exchange while allowing employees, carts, and equipment to move through easily. Because the strips fall back into place after traffic passes, the opening does not have to remain completely exposed between uses. 

In refrigerated environments, low-temperature strip doors serve a similar purpose while using PVC formulated to remain flexible in colder conditions. Installed at walk-in cooler and freezer openings, they can help limit the amount of cold air that escapes and warmer air that enters during frequent traffic, supporting more consistent temperatures and reducing unnecessary energy loss. 

For high-traffic openings where a traditional door is needed, impact doors can help balance environmental separation with efficient traffic flow. ALECO impact doors create a tight seal when closed, helping reduce air exchange and maintain more consistent temperatures between spaces. This makes them especially well-suited for cooler applications and other temperature-controlled environments where maintaining separation is important. Their swinging design allows employees and equipment to move through easily before the doors return to the closed position, helping maintain environmental control and support more consistent conditions within the facility without disrupting workflow.  

At frequently opened exterior entrances, air curtains offer another approach. By creating a controlled stream of air across an open doorway, air curtains can help reduce the exchange of conditioned indoor air and outside air while allowing personnel to move through without a physical barrier.

Where Could Your Facility Be Losing Energy?

Energy loss isn't always easy to spot. In busy facilities, frequently opened doors and exposed openings may simply be part of everyday operations. But when those openings separate spaces with different temperatures, even routine traffic can create opportunities for conditioned air to escape and outside or unconditioned air to enter. 

As part of Energy Awareness Month, take a walk through your facility and consider these common areas where greater environmental control could help reduce unnecessary air exchange:

Area to Check	What to Look For
Frequently used interior openings	Do openings between conditioned and unconditioned spaces remain exposed when no one is passing through?
Walk-In Coolers & Freezers	Is cold air escaping each time employees enter or exit? Are openings exposed during frequent traffic?
Loading and receiving areas	Are large openings regularly left exposed while employees, carts, or equipment move through?
Exterior personnel entrances	Are doors frequently open throughout the workday, allowing conditioned indoor air and outside air to mix?
Existing strip door openings	Are strips missing, damaged, or no longer providing adequate coverage across the opening?

Identifying these areas is a simple first step. From there, facilities can evaluate the type and frequency of traffic, temperature differences between spaces, opening size, and other application requirements to determine whether a strip door, low-temperature strip door, impact door, air curtain, or replacement PVC strips could help create a more controlled environment. 

Small improvements at frequently used openings can add up over time. The goal isn't to eliminate necessary traffic – it's to maintain efficient movement while reducing unnecessary exposure between environments. 

Energy efficiency looks different from one facility to another. Understanding where energy comes from, how products are manufactured, and where unnecessary air exchange occurs can help facility managers make more informed decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions  

What does energy efficiency mean for a commercial or industrial facility? 

Energy efficiency means using less energy to maintain the same level of operations, production, or comfort while reducing unnecessary energy consumption and loss. In commercial and industrial facilities, this can include optimizing lighting, HVAC systems, equipment, and processes, as well as better controlling the movement of conditioned air. 

Frequently used openings are a common source of energy loss. When openings connect spaces with different temperatures, heated or cooled air can escape while outside or unconditioned air enters. Solutions such as PVC strip doors, impact doors, and air curtains can help reduce unnecessary air exchange while maintaining efficient traffic flow throughout the facility. 

How do open doors affect energy efficiency? 

Open doors can allow conditioned air to escape while outside or unconditioned air enters the facility. When an opening separates spaces with different temperatures, this air exchange can make heating, cooling, or refrigeration systems work harder to maintain the desired temperature. 

The impact can be especially noticeable at frequently used exterior entrances, loading areas, and walk-in cooler or freezer openings. Creating effective separation at these openings with solutions such as PVC strip doors, impact doors, or air curtains can help reduce unnecessary air exchange without restricting everyday traffic. 

How can facilities reduce energy loss at high-traffic doorways? 

Facilities can reduce energy loss at high-traffic doorways by limiting unnecessary air exchange while maintaining efficient movement through the opening. Depending on the application, PVC strip doors, impact doors, and air curtains can create separation between spaces without significantly disrupting the flow of employees, carts, or equipment. 

The right solution depends on factors such as the location of the opening, temperature differences between spaces, traffic type and frequency, and whether a physical door or barrier is needed. 

Do PVC strip curtains help reduce energy loss? 

Yes. PVC strip curtains can help reduce energy loss by creating a flexible barrier that limits air exchange between spaces with different temperatures. Unlike an exposed opening, the overlapping PVC strips separate the spaces while still allowing employees, carts, and equipment to pass through easily. 

PVC strip curtains can be particularly useful at frequently accessed openings, including loading areas, warehouses, and walk-in coolers and freezers, where maintaining more consistent temperatures can help reduce the demand on heating, cooling, or refrigeration systems. 

Do strip curtains help keep cold air inside walk-in coolers and freezers? 

Yes. PVC strip curtains can help keep cold air inside walk-in coolers and freezers by creating a flexible barrier across the opening. The overlapping strips help limit the amount of cold air that escapes and warmer air that enters as employees move in and out. 

For refrigerated and freezer applications, low-temperature PVC is designed to remain flexible in colder conditions, allowing the strips to continue providing effective coverage while supporting frequent traffic. Reducing unnecessary air exchange can help maintain more consistent temperatures and reduce energy loss. 

What is the difference between an air curtain and a PVC strip curtain? 

Both air curtains and PVC strip curtains can help reduce air exchange at frequently used openings, but they create separation in different ways. A PVC strip curtain uses overlapping flexible strips to create a physical barrier that employees, carts, and equipment can pass through. 

An air curtain creates an invisible barrier by directing a controlled stream of air across an open doorway. This makes air curtains well suited for high-traffic exterior entrances where an unobstructed opening is preferred, while PVC strip curtains are commonly used in warehouses at loading, receiving, and temperature-controlled openings where a physical barrier is appropriate. 

Choosing between the two depends on the location, traffic, temperature differences, and requirements of the opening. 

How can impact doors help improve energy efficiency in commercial and industrial facilities? 

Impact doors can help support energy efficiency by creating a tight seal when closed, reducing unnecessary air exchange between spaces with different temperatures. At high-traffic openings, the swinging design allows employees and equipment to move through easily before the doors return to the closed position. This combination of environmental separation and efficient traffic flow can help facilities maintain more consistent conditions and reduce energy loss. 

Are impact doors a good option for walk-in coolers and temperature-controlled areas? 

Yes, impact doors can be a practical solution for high-traffic cooler openings and other temperature-controlled areas. Their tight seal helps limit the amount of cold air that escapes and warmer air that enters when the doors are closed, while the swinging design accommodates frequent personnel and equipment traffic. Reducing unnecessary air exchange can help maintain more consistent temperatures and reduce demand on refrigeration systems. 

How does energy efficiency contribute to sustainability? 

Energy efficiency contributes to sustainability by reducing unnecessary energy consumption while maintaining the same level of performance, production, or comfort. Using energy more efficiently can help conserve resources, reduce operating costs, and lower the environmental impacts associated with energy generation and use. 

For commercial and industrial facilities, this can include improving the efficiency of equipment and building systems as well as reducing energy loss through frequently used openings. Limiting unnecessary air exchange can help heating, cooling, and refrigeration systems maintain desired conditions more efficiently. 

Can PVC be recycled? 

Yes. PVC can be mechanically recycled and reprocessed for use in new materials and products.  

However, recyclable does not always mean recycled. Whether a PVC product can be recovered at the end of its useful life depends on factors such as its formulation and condition, contamination, collection and sorting capabilities, and access to appropriate recycling programs. When recycling options are available, recovering PVC can help extend the useful life of the material and reduce the need for new raw materials.