Why a Balanced Door? | Ellison Bronze Balanced Doors

Introduction to Balanced Doors

The balanced door was invented by Ellison in 1927 in response to the need for a door that would:

Open and close more easily, even under the harshest wind or stack pressure conditions
Render door size and weight inconsequential to ease of operation and service longevity
Many innovations to the original balance door design have occurred since its invention, each enhancing these principal objectives.

System Design

The Ellison balanced door is more than simply the door leaf that opens and closes. It’s a unified system comprised of three components:

The door leaf
The frame
Balanced hardware

Mechanical Advantage

Ellison balanced doors open and close in a manner very different from butt-hinged, continuous-hinged and pivot-hinged doors, yet facilitate the same open area.

The conventional door requires pulling against the entire weight of the door that hangs from the hinges on a single side.

The Ellison balanced door pivots at two-thirds the width of the door, creating a more balanced fulcrum point for distributing a door's weight.

Reduced Opening Force

The entire surface area of a conventional door must be pulled against the external wind loads and closed against internal building stack/HVAC pressures. This results in a heavier pull force and the inability to keep the door fully closed without fluttering.

An Ellison balanced door opens and closes more easily against positive or negative wind pressures because pressures are relieved at both sides of door as it is operated.

5 lbs. of Spring Pressure
	Conventional Door	Balanced Door
wind m.p.h.	lbs. of pressure to open
10	3+5=8 lbs.	1+5 = 6 lbs.
20	11+5=16 lbs.	3+5 = 8 lbs.
30	26+5=31lbs.	7+5=12 lbs.
40	47+5=52 lbs.	13+5=18 lbs.
50	73+5=78 lbs.	21+5=26 lbs.
60	105+5=110 lbs.	30+5 = 35 lbs.

Unsurpassed Longevity

Commercial entry doors must be robust in order to withstand high (often abusive) traffic over a long period of time, and to provide needed security. To achieve this durability, doors must be well-constructed with strong and heavy materials, such as steel, bronze, or glass.

With conventional doors, the full weight of the door leaf hangs from hinges. Over time, the door will operationally fail due to continuous lateral stresses on the frame and hinges.

However, with an Ellison balanced door, the weight of the door is transferred downward into the floor, eliminating lateral stress. As a result, the weight of the door itself is irrelevant. This means that Ellison doors can be built far stronger and remain operational indefinitely.

Reduced Leaf Projection

The elliptical motion path of an Ellison balanced door reduces door leaf projection by one third, freeing up valuable space. In cities with stringent sidewalk projection codes, like New York, reduced leaf projection is especially advantageous.

Design Flexibility

Unlike a commodity commercial entry door, Ellison balanced doors are built according to an architect's specification including...

Material Selection - Bronze, Stainless, Wood, Glass, Painted Aluminum, etc.
Dimension
Stile , Rail and Lite Options
Framing Options - Exposed and Concealed Shaft
Finish Options
Door pull, panic device, and locking options
Power-operated options

Your Ellison sales professional will assist you in specifying an Ellison balanced door that achieves your vision. Visit our download center for specifications and details for our most popular configurations.

Warranty

Your Ellison door is backed by an industry-best 10-Year Warranty, written in plain English.

It provides comprehensive coverage for the entire door system – including the door, frame and balanced hardware – for 10 years.

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