Factors to be considered while selecting a Cold Room

The cold room is one of the most essential parts of the frozen food supply chain because it links the manufacturing process with transportation to the retailer. When selecting cold storage, many aspects are to be taken into account such as costs, maintenance, energy efficiency, and capacity of the storage to maintain stable temperature year after year, etc.

The manufacturers of cold storage make cold rooms of different sizes that have features and parts to meet the needs of the buyer. For example, an industrial freezer room can keep temperatures in the range of -60 degrees C to 15 degrees C.

We are providing a buying guide for integrated cold rooms which can help in selecting the correct one for your business.

There are three common types of cold rooms:

1. Modular Cold Rooms

Modular cold rooms are large-scale commercial refrigeration rooms. They are built of standard-sized panels, floor, ceiling, and walls which can be combined to make a cold room. They have different ranges of temperatures and can chill the food products at any temperature.

2. Combi Cold Rooms

In the catering business, different foods need to be stored at different temperatures. For this, one can select the combi cold rooms. These rooms are made up of separate temperature zones. They have two rooms- the external door which is mostly warm and a door that leads to the freezer section. Both these rooms have separate temperature zones and are managed by separate refrigeration units. They are safe, reliable, and can be easily used.

3. Industrial Cold Rooms

Industrial cold rooms are suitable for that business that has to store large quantities of goods. These types of cold rooms are accessible by vehicles.

You have to see to it whether you have space for a walk-in freezer or not. If space is limited, then you can go for a large commercial freezer which takes less space.  If there is ample space for a walk-in freezer, then this will best suit your business as it can be accessed easily.

You must also need to know how much insulation is best for your business.  If the insulation is thicker, then the efficiency of the room will be more.

You should also decide whether you are going to install an insulated floor or not. The insulated floors are used for medium freezer rooms as it helps in maintaining the right temperature and is more efficient. The cold rooms which are not insulated are cheaper than the insulated floors.

The height of the cold rooms should also be considered. It should be decided at par with the capacity required by the business.

What is the Purpose of a Cold Room?

Before purchasing a cold room, it is necessary to find out your purpose. Is the cold room for pharmaceutical requirements or a commercial cold room to meet the requirements of the hospitality industry?

An industrial cold room serves many purposes such as safeguarding seafood, farm products, horticultural and agricultural supplies, and pharmaceuticals. 

What is the capacity of the cold storage?

Your operational needs determine the capacity of the cold storage. How many days your stock gets over determines the capacity of the cold room to be purchased.

It should be kept in mind that the size of your cold storage must be more than the bulk of stock you want to preserve. It should have enough space for storage purposes, aisle space, airflow, etc

The cold room walls affect the refrigeration efficiency. A wall with thick insulation is suitable for regular and deep-freezing applications. The standard cold rooms for vegetable storage need not be that strict.

You should select a refrigerator that is suitable for floor heating systems. If cold rooms are installed on a normal cold floor, then ice will start to build upon the surface and poses falling hazards.

Regulation of temperature

You should select a cold room that has an ideal temperature regulation facility. There should be a control panel in which the preferred settings can be set, and the cold room must be able to sustain it.  If you have to store goods between 0 degrees C and +18 degrees  C, then a chiller or ambient cold room will best suit you. If you have to store goods at lower temperatures, below freezing, then a walk-in freezer that can operate at temperatures between 0 degrees C and -40 degrees C will be suitable.

Refrigeration system

There is an evaporator in cold storage or walk-in freezer that sucks out the heat from the inside of the cold rooms and there is also a condenser that releases the hot air. A clip-on refrigeration system can be selected for a solitary temperature zone.

The remote refrigeration framework separates the evaporator and the condenser units by linking them through pipelines which are good for discharging the heat and hence, suitable for extensive storage spaces.

A centralized refrigeration system cools down multiple cold rooms in large-scale operations.

The efficiency of cold storage

One cold room is more energy-efficient than many smaller cold rooms. The only thing is whether one cold room will be sufficient enough to meet all your requirements.

Customized Cold Room

One can purchase a customized cold room designed to meet one’s needs having glass doors, a skid-proof floor, customized racks, a noiseless gathering unit, dedicated insulations for sections, etc., the cost of which will be more than the standards.

Warranty, guarantee, and safety

While selecting a cold room, find out from the dealer if the panels, refrigeration and cooling hardware, etc are covered under warranty.

Security

Lastly, security is another factor to be considered when choosing a cold room. See to it that the cold storage provider you select takes the responsibility for your products, has state-of-the-art security solutions, and has a skilled workforce.

Conclusion

Cold rooms are used in various industries such as food processing, hospitality, entertainment, supermarkets, chemical industry, oil, and gas industry, manufacturing industry, etc.

By following the above tips, selecting the perfect cold room for your food business would be hassle-free.