The Difference Between Single and Multi-Point Electronic Door Closers

Choosing a manual or an electronic door opener for your commercial property doors is usually a matter of preference.  Both perform well and do the job that they are required to do.  Commercial property owners who decide to install electronic door closers are faced with another question: single-point or multi-point models?

This question applies in particular to fire doors.  They protect commercial properties in the event of a fire emergency.  They are made of materials which are highly resistant to flames and heat.  During a fire, the door will prevent the spread of fire from one part of a commercial building to another.  By containing a fire to the smallest possible area of a building, more property and possibly even lives are spared.

Door closers are an essential part of commercial doors.  They are, in fact, a requirement in almost every industrialized country in the world.  However, commercial property owners have a great deal of discretion when it comes to the type(s) of door closers they choose. 

Property owners must maintain the integrity of fire doors.  But in choosing electronic door closers with single or multi-point holding features, owners have the option to leave fire doors open (depending on the type of facility/business) while still having the assurance that doors will close automatically in the event of a fire, thus maintaining the building’s fire integrity. 

The prevention of the spread of fire from building compartment to compartment can only be maintained if fire doors are closed when a fire breaks out.  Local laws and building codes vary in regard to the status of fire doors.  Some regions specify that they must remain closed at all times.  Others state that fire doors must be closed in the event of a fire.  Still others may actually require that they automatically close when a building's fire detection system is activated.

To bring this into perspective, take a typical office building as an example.  An individual lessee whose door has been equipped with an automatic door closing device can leave its entrance door propped open, even if the door is a fire door.  Should a fire or an interruption to power occur, the door closer will be automatically activated.

Electronic door closers may come in single or multi-point holding models.  A single-point holding electronic door closer, has the capability to hold a fire door open in a single position.  Typically, single-point door closers hold a door in a fully-opened position.  Multi-point holding models can hold a door open in multiple positions according to preference (i.e. fully, half or partially opened.)

In the event that power is interrupted (i.e. power failure) the door will close manually like a rack-and-pinion closing device.  Electronic hold-open door closers may also be outfitted with smoke/fire detectors.  These devices will automatically close the door when particles of combustion are detected.

Either way, commercial property owners can count on electronic door closers with hold-open function to protect their properties, employees and customers in a fire emergency.  Plus, they offer the convenience of choice in allowing fire doors to stay open as desired without compromising safety integrity.