I have always wondered why we have invented automatic doors and used them because it would be a lot more work to do to fit them in and make them and all they do is open by themselves.
They are rather important anyplace where a customer might have both arms full of merchandise. Stores really want to make customers feel taken care of. They are even more important when the doors are made of glass because it is possible to get the glass so clean that people can't see it and they bump into it.
it is easy access and egress == you do not have to touch the door and get germs from others on your hands == it is safer than having one door to push or pull for double foot traffic == much better for disabled or wheelie chaired people .... it is a go
Convenience. In stores, customers pushing heavy carts don't have to open the door themselves. Not only that, they are handicapped friendly.
If they just got rid of sliding doors altogether, it would save a lot of bother. It's not exactly hard to open a door manually.
Most questions that start with Why have an economic component, and this is no exception. Automatic doors enable people to get in and out of a building quickly and easily. They also keep heat and air conditioning inside the building much more efficiently than manual doors, which, when you have a lot of foot traffic or you are in an extreme climate can mean significant energy savings. Retail stores want to make their outlets as user friendly as possible, and that often means larger and more versatile shopping carts. Anything that enables customers to buy more merchandise is a positive for the store, and large, automatic doors that open and close quickly is a part of that. There's also an insurance and liability aspect to automatic doors because no one is likely to have their hand or face slammed by a poorly adjusted manual door. Part of my commute every day is through Union Station in Chicago and the doors there are not automatic - there is a constant danger of them slamming on the fingers of the unaware. Automatic doors are impervious to wind and also enable businesses and civic buildings to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, which states that people who may have physical or other challenges easy access. Really large buildings, like airport terminals often have automatic revolving doors which allow huge numbers of people access with luggage in an efficient manner while also cutting down on heating and cooling costs.
