Air curtains for Singapore shops & F&B: do you need one, and what size?
If your shop or café keeps the door open for customers but bleeds aircon (and lets in heat, flies and dust), an air curtain is the fix. It blows an invisible sheet of air across the opening. Here's how to choose one.
SparkFlow team5 min readIf you run a shop, café or restaurant with the door propped open for customers, you already know the trade-off: an inviting open entrance, but escaping aircon and incoming heat, flies, dust and street smells. An air curtain solves it without closing the door — and it lightens the load on your aircon system in the process.
What an air curtain actually does
Mounted above the doorway, it blows a fast, even sheet of air straight down across the opening — an invisible barrier. Customers walk through it without noticing; the moving air keeps the two sides of the door separated. The result: your conditioned air stays in, and heat, insects and dust stay out.
Who needs one
- Retail shops that keep the entrance open to feel welcoming.
- F&B outlets — keeps flies out of food areas and aircon in, so your cooling stays effective even with the door open.
- Cold rooms and chillers — holds the cold when the door opens.
- Loading bays and warehouses — a barrier against heat, dust and pests.
How to size one
Two numbers matter, and KDK's model codes spell them out:
| Spec | Options | How to choose |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 90cm, 120cm, 150cm | At least as wide as the doorway; use two units side by side for very wide entrances. |
| Projection (efficient distance) | 2.5m, 3m, 3.5m, 4m | How far down the barrier stays effective; a taller doorway needs a longer projection to seal all the way to the floor. |
So a standard shopfront with a 120cm-wide, ~2.5m-tall door wants a 120cm / 2.5m unit; a tall warehouse door wants a wider unit with a 3.5–4m projection. You can see the full matrix in our air-curtain range.
Installation
An air curtain mounts above the door frame and is hardwired — it's not a plug-in unit. In Singapore that electrical wiring is a licensed job; SparkFlow is EMA-registered (ME05 L1), so we supply, mount and wire it as one piece of work. If the run needs a fresh circuit, that's a dedicated wiring and DB upgrade we handle at the same time — see our guide to DB box upgrades if your board is already full. Tell us your door width and height for a fixed supply-and-install quote.
The takeaway
If you're paying to cool a space with the door open, an air curtain pays for itself in comfort, lower aircon load and a cleaner, pest-free entrance. The wiring is straightforward for a licensed electrician, and our breakdown of electrician costs in Singapore gives you a feel for the labour side. Match the width to your door and the projection to its height — browse the range and we'll size and install it for you.
Frequently asked questions
- Do air curtains really keep aircon in?
- Yes. Mounted above the doorway, an air curtain blows a fast, even sheet of air straight down across the opening, forming an invisible barrier. It keeps the two sides of the door separated so conditioned air stays in while heat, insects and dust stay out, even with the door propped open.
- What size air curtain do I need for my shop door?
- Match two specs to your door. The width should be at least as wide as the doorway, with common sizes of 90cm, 120cm and 150cm. The projection (efficient distance) ranges from 2.5m to 4m and should match your door height so the barrier seals all the way to the floor.
- Can I just plug in an air curtain myself?
- No. An air curtain mounts above the door frame and is hardwired, not a plug-in unit. In Singapore that wiring is a licensed job. SparkFlow is EMA-registered (ME05 L1), so we supply, mount and wire the unit as one piece of work for a fixed supply-and-install quote.
- Are air curtains worth it for a Singapore F&B outlet?
- If you keep the door open for customers but pay to cool the space, an air curtain pays for itself in comfort, lower aircon load and a cleaner, pest-free entrance. For F&B it also keeps flies out of food areas while letting customers walk through the doorway freely.
- How wide an entrance can one air curtain cover?
- A single unit should be at least as wide as the doorway, with common widths of 90cm, 120cm and 150cm. For very wide entrances you place two units side by side so the air barrier covers the full opening with no gaps in between.