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Introduction
This article contains everything you need to know about cold rooms and their use.
You will learn:
What is a Cold Room?
Types of Cold Rooms
The Structure of Cold Rooms
Cold Rooms Compared to Clean Rooms
And much more �
Chapter 1: What is a Cold Room?
A cold room is a temperature-regulated environment designed to uphold certain temperatures using refrigeration techniques, facilitating the storage, experimentation, and preservation of food, equipment, and medical supplies. These spaces can be categorized by their temperature specifications and dimensions, from compact walk-in models to expansive warehouse-scale facilities.
The cooling system within a cold room functions similarly to other refrigeration systems. It incorporates compressors, condensers, fans, expansion valves, and evaporators to reach and sustain low temperatures. Depending on the intended purpose and usage, cold room conditions can vary from -40°C to -2°C (-40°F to 28.4°F).
A key advantage of cold rooms is their ability to deliver precise temperature management for industrial and commercial uses, which necessitate prolonged storage of perishables. They provide an efficient method for the conservation of food items and chemicals.
Chapter 2: What are the Different Types of Cold Rooms?
Cold rooms—sometimes called cold storage rooms, walk-in freezers, or commercial refrigeration rooms—are often the preferred solution for businesses and industries that require a consistently cold environment for product preservation. These temperature-controlled storage systems play a crucial role in protecting product integrity and ensuring optimal performance, particularly in sectors such as food service, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and research. Selecting the right cold storage solution can be challenging due to the wide variety of cold room types and features available. Each type is engineered to accommodate specific operational environments and storage requirements to guarantee the safety, longevity, and quality of stored goods.
The selection process for a cold room starts with determining its required temperature range—covering everything from chilled environments (above 0°C) to deep freezing (as low as -45°C)—and its size, which is influenced by the volume and type of goods to be stored. Considerations also include energy efficiency, humidity control, and available installation space. Large cold rooms, such as those in distribution centers or warehouses, often require careful assessment and customized design to ensure seamless integration with existing workflows. Whether for bulk food storage, biomedical research, or sensitive chemical storage, the optimal cold room installation maximizes storage capacity while ensuring regulatory compliance and operational efficiency.
Remote Cold Rooms
A remote cold room—also known as a split refrigeration system—refers to a setup where core refrigeration components, such as the compressor and condenser, are placed separately from the cold storage enclosure. In this configuration, only the evaporator is situated inside the cold room, while the heavy-duty compressor and condenser are positioned externally, often on a rooftop or mechanical area. This remote design is ideal for commercial food storage, industrial refrigeration, and environments where minimizing heat and mechanical noise within the storage area is a priority.
The separation of the compressor and condenser provides substantial benefits: it mitigates the heat and noise produced within the cold room, enhances energy efficiency by reducing the cooling load, and lowers overall operational costs. Additionally, this setup maximizes usable storage space, accommodating greater inventory or bulkier products. Remote cold rooms are often favored in environments with strict temperature consistency requirements, such as pharmaceutical warehouses, large-scale food processors, and scientific laboratories.
Saddle Mount Cold Room
Saddle mount cold rooms describe refrigeration systems either suspended from a wall or installed atop the cold storage unit before the roof panel is sealed. For wall-mounted applications, the refrigeration unit is fastened via a bracket that passes through slotted openings in the cold room’s upper panel. These plug-and-play cooling solutions—classified as modular cold rooms or walk-in cold rooms—are especially valued for their compact, integrated construction and easy installation process.
The appeal of saddle mount cold rooms lies in their single-unit, preassembled design, which simplifies setup while maintaining superior insulation and temperature control. This cold room configuration is ideal for smaller-scale operations, catering businesses, or on-site foodservice locations that require rapid deployment of cold storage without complex electrical wiring or refrigeration expertise. Key features also include integrated condensate drainage and user-friendly controls, further streamlining Cold Room operation and maintenance.
Penthouse Cold Rooms
Penthouse cold rooms are a specialized cold storage solution similar to top-mount systems, but are uniquely engineered without an evaporator coil inside the cold room chamber itself. This innovative arrangement enhances usable storage capacity by eliminating intrusive equipment, making penthouse cold rooms a top choice for installations where maximizing internal space is essential. To safeguard products from condensation and liquid buildup, penthouse systems feature an external condensate evaporator and direct airflow management through cooling coils, louvers, and inlets for efficient heat transfer.
This cold room design is especially effective for applications where contamination risk—such as from mold, bacteria, or particulates—must be minimized. By housing evaporators in insulated cells outside the storage compartment, penthouse cold rooms reduce contamination and facilitate easy maintenance. This makes them ideal for pharmaceutical storage, biotechnology labs, or settings requiring elevated hygiene and a high level of temperature accuracy. Their design also suits facilities with limited vertical or wall space but a need for continuous, dependable refrigeration.
Prefabricated Cold Room
Prefabricated cold rooms, also known as modular cold rooms, are designed for versatility, scalability, and rapid deployment. These turnkey cold storage solutions are assembled from factory-manufactured, insulated panels that lock together to form a secure, energy-efficient enclosure. Prefabricated cold rooms offer unmatched flexibility—they can be easily expanded, downsized, or even relocated as storage needs evolve.
Key advantages include customizable temperature ranges, configurable interior shelving for different goods, and the use of advanced insulating materials for consistent temperature retention. The modular structure enables businesses to upgrade or reconfigure their refrigerated storage with minimal disruption. This makes prefabricated cold rooms a popular choice for food processors, farm producers, restaurants, and pharmaceutical distributors. High-performance interlocking panels help maintain stable temperatures, minimize energy consumption, and prevent temperature leakage, which is crucial for both chilled and frozen storage. These cold rooms are ideal for environments where rapid installation, compliance with food safety standards, and easy maintenance are important.
Skid Mounted Cold Room
Skid-mounted cold rooms are portable refrigeration units designed with robust steel frames, providing easy transportation and rapid deployment in challenging environments. Often resembling shipping containers or trailers, these cold storage modules can be lifted and moved by crane, forklift, or flatbed truck. Built with partitioned doors and customizable wall sizing, skid-mounted cold rooms serve diverse needs, from mobile food storage at events to field science and humanitarian relief operations.
Skid-mounted cold rooms are invaluable for cold storage and environmental testing in remote areas lacking infrastructure or stable electricity supplies. Many units feature self-contained diesel generators, making them reliable in off-grid locations. The sturdy construction allows them to withstand harsh weather, rough handling, and frequent relocation. Skid-mounted units offer feature-rich options such as digital temperature controls, heavy-duty shelving, integrated lighting, and tamper-resistant locks. Their scalable sizing—from compact cabinets to full trailer-length modules—makes them ideal for military, mining, scientific expeditions, and perishable food logistics operations.
Combination Cold Room
The general definition of a cold room encompasses insulated chambers engineered to maintain stable temperatures for sensitive products, experiments, or bulk storage. For operations requiring multiple temperature zones within a single cold storage enclosure, a combination—or combi—cold room is the ideal multi-functional solution.
Combination cold rooms feature distinct, independently controlled temperature zones separated by insulated partitions. This configuration allows simultaneous storage or testing of products needing diverse temperature environments—such as pharmaceuticals, vaccines, chemicals, or different food categories—without risk of cross-contamination or temperature fluctuation. The main access leads to the warmest section, with secondary doors granting entry to colder compartments. Temperature ranges can span from -25°C to 18°C, offering flexibility for research, food safety, or logistics staging applications.
Industries that benefit from combi cold rooms include food processing, catering, biotech, healthcare, clinical research, and high-value logistics. These cold rooms are custom fabricated to optimize energy use, maximize storage efficiency, and facilitate compliance with health and safety regulations. Customizable insulation thickness, specialized racking, and secure temperature monitoring systems make combination cold rooms the superior choice for businesses with varied, demanding cold storage requirements.
Temperature Blast Cold Room
Temperature blast cold rooms, also referred to as blast chillers, shock freezers, or rapid cooling freezer rooms, are engineered for the rapid freezing and chilling of fresh produce, meat, seafood, or prepared foods. Utilizing high-velocity air circulation and powerful compressors, these cold storage rooms lower internal temperatures quickly—typically from +70°C down to -18°C or lower in under 90 minutes—preventing microbial growth and preserving taste, color, and nutritional value.
Used extensively in large-scale food processing, catering, bakery, and seafood industries, blast cold rooms are critical for complying with food safety standards such as HACCP, which require strict temperature control during processing and transportation. These cold rooms are designed for both high throughput and efficient energy use, ensuring fast recovery times when new products are loaded. Custom options include advanced monitoring, flexible racking, and humidity control systems, making them indispensable for companies focused on freshness, quality, and regulatory compliance in food logistics.
Walk-In Cold Room
Walk-in cold rooms are large, insulated, and easily accessible storage units purpose-built for commercial refrigeration and the preservation of perishable goods. These cold stores are an industry standard for food wholesalers, supermarkets, restaurants, catering businesses, and even pharmaceutical storage. Walk-in cold rooms offer the advantage of customizable size, interior layout, and temperature settings, making them suitable for both chilled and frozen storage applications.
While there is overlap between walk-in cold rooms and clean rooms—used in pharmaceutical or electronics manufacturing—cold rooms focus primarily on consistent temperature, humidity, and airflow rather than particulate cleanliness. Walk-in rooms are rigorously designed to provide easy access, optimal racking, and efficient airflow, ensuring quick product retrieval and minimal temperature fluctuation. Markets that benefit from walk-ins include hospitality, beverage distribution, floral wholesalers, and laboratory research. Modern walk-in cold rooms often feature remote monitoring, automatic door closers, and advanced safety systems to streamline operation and safeguard product quality.
Solar Direct Cold Room
A solar direct cold room is an energy-efficient refrigeration solution designed for perishable storage and temperature-sensitive equipment in off-grid or power-limited locations. These sustainable cold storage systems utilize rooftop solar panels, which harness sunlight and convert it into electricity via photovoltaic (PV) cells to power the cold room’s compressor and refrigeration components.
Solar-powered cold rooms are especially advantageous in agricultural, rural, and remote medical settings where reliable electricity is unavailable or expensive. The eco-friendly operation lowers carbon emissions, operating costs, and reliance on diesel generators for backup power. Key features include battery storage options for nighttime cooling, advanced insulation for thermal retention, and smart controllers to optimize energy use. Increasingly, solar cold storage is critical for post-harvest produce cooling, vaccine and medical supply transport, and cold chain reliability in developing regions or disaster recovery scenarios.
Chapter 3: How are cold rooms classified by temperature and size?
Cold rooms rely on refrigeration systems to maintain specific climatic conditions necessary for preserving products and supporting various manufacturing processes. They are crucial in industries where extremely low temperatures are required. When selecting a cold room, considerations include its function, size, and temperature range, all of which influence the decision-making process.
Temperature Range
Cold rooms can be categorized into four types based on their temperature ranges: storage rooms, freezing rooms, deep freezing tunnels, and blast chillers.
Positive Temperature Cold Room
Positive temperature cold rooms operate within a temperature range of 0°C to 18°C (32°F to 64.4°F). They are used for preserving the quality of fruits, vegetables, and medical samples such as tissue and medicines. These cold rooms ensure a stable environment for storing fresh food in bulk by maintaining a constant temperature and low humidity through effective insulating materials.
Often referred to as cold storage rooms, these units are designed for both manufacturing and preservation purposes. They come equipped with various devices and thermometers to monitor and regulate the internal conditions and temperature of the room.
Negative Temperature Cold Room
Negative temperature cold rooms operate within a temperature range of 0°C to -28°C (32°F to -18.4°F). Achieving and maintaining these low temperatures requires high-quality insulation to minimize electricity usage and reduce the number of openings. These cold rooms are commonly used for freezing and storing food, vaccines, and organic materials.
To regulate the temperature, negative temperature cold rooms are equipped with an electromechanical thermostat featuring a sensor and electric contactor that function on an on/off cycle. When the room temperature rises, the thermostat triggers the compressor to start a refrigeration cycle, ensuring the temperature remains within the desired range.
Deep Freezing Tunnel
Deep freezing tunnels operate at temperatures ranging from -30°C to -40°C (-22°F to -40°F). These tunnels use automatic displacement systems and cold air currents to freeze items as they pass through the tunnel. Designed to rapidly freeze products, deep freezing tunnels consist of a sealed chamber through which food moves on a conveyor belt while being exposed to cold air that quickly freezes it.
In the deep freezing tunnel process, products are continuously transported by a series of conveyors. The key to this method is the high-speed circulation of cold air, which ensures uniform and rapid freezing. The speed and duration within the tunnel are carefully controlled to maintain product quality and prevent damage, allowing for adjustments based on specific product requirements.
Deep freezing tunnels were developed to address issues with previous freezing methods that caused ice crystals to form on products, affecting their texture and quality. The rapid freezing process of the tunnel minimizes ice crystal formation, preserving the product’s integrity and quality.
Temperature Blast Chillers
Temperature blast chillers are designed to rapidly cool food products to safeguard them from bacterial growth, which can accelerate between 8°C and 68°C (46°F and 154°F). Similar to deep freezing tunnels, blast chillers use a high-speed circulation of cold air to quickly lower the temperature of the food products.
The primary distinction between a blast chiller and a standard freezer lies in the speed of the freezing process. While freezers gradually reduce the temperature, potentially compromising the food's flavor, texture, and taste, blast chillers perform rapid cooling that helps preserve all these qualities effectively.
Cold Room Size
Cold rooms come in various sizes depending on their intended use. Smaller cold rooms are typically used by retail businesses like butchers, florists, and ice cream parlors. Medium-sized cold rooms, which accommodate tools and equipment, are common in laboratories and research facilities. In contrast, industrial cold rooms can be extremely large, spanning several thousand meters or feet.
Cold Room Sizes
Small â€� up to 30 m³ (1059.44 ft³) â€� Catering, butchers, ice cream shops, florists, and grocery stores.
Medium â€� up to 200 m³ (7065.93 ft³) â€� Supermarkets, hotels, laboratories, research facilities, and clean rooms.
Large â€� up to 3000 m³ (3923.85 yd³) â€� Large industrial operations such as logistic centers, shipping, and large item storage.
Cold rooms come in various sizes, making them versatile for different conditions and environments. They are suitable for any situation where maintaining low temperatures is essential for preserving products or conducting specific applications.
Chapter 4: What are the components of a cold room?
Cold rooms and clean rooms share similarities in that both require precise control over airflow and temperature. However, while clean rooms must maintain an environment free from contaminants, dust, or dirt to ensure purity, cold rooms focus on maintaining very low temperatures to preserve their contents.
The structure of cold rooms varies depending on their specific use, but all cold rooms share certain fundamental characteristics, including their refrigeration systems. Despite the variety in refrigeration systems, their operation generally follows a standard approach.
Like clean rooms, cold rooms have essential components designed to maintain their required conditions, paying attention to even the smallest details.
Flooring
The choice of flooring for a cold room depends on its temperature and specific needs. Flooring must endure freezing temperatures, be easy to clean, support heavy equipment, and be slip-resistant, stainless, and non-absorptive. Polyaspartic and urethane coatings are effective as they cure quickly even in cold conditions. Additionally, if a cold room is connected to a clean room, the flooring must be seamless and tightly sealed to resist thermal shock.
Panels
Cold room panels vary depending on the temperature rating of the cold room. An essential feature of these panels is their ability to prevent leakage and ensure a tight seal to minimize energy loss. They form the walls and ceilings of cold rooms and play a crucial role in temperature control and insulation, similar to panels used in clean rooms.
Cold room panels are typically constructed with a core of either polyisocyanurate (PIR), which offers highly efficient insulation, or polyurethane (PU), made using uniform dispersion molding (UDM). These panels are designed for easy installation and transport, being manufactured in manageable sections.
In addition to PIR and PU, cold room panels may also be made from polystyrene, neopor, or compressed straw, each suited to specific cold room applications and installation methods. The key attributes of cold room panels include their lightweight nature, durability, and ease of handling.
Doors
In addition to the number of doors for a cold room, the quality and type of doors are crucial for accessing and maintaining the seal of the cold room. Several types of doors are used in cold rooms, including:
Horizontal sliding
Vertical sliding
Hinged
Service doors
Specialized doors
Fold-up
A key factor in selecting a door for a cold room is the available space and the need for shipping equipment, such as pallet jacks and forklifts, to enter the room. Vertical doors are ideal for narrow spaces with sufficient overhead clearance. Important features of cold room doors include their seal, insulation, durability, temperature resistance of their openers, and the ability to remain functional without stiffening or sticking over time.
Cold Room Refrigeration System
The temperatures in a cold room are maintained by a refrigeration system designed to meet its specific requirements. Key components of a refrigeration system include a compressor, condenser, expansion valve, evaporator coils, and circulation fans. Additionally, the system uses refrigerant gases, such as ammonia, freon, or CO2, to achieve and maintain the desired temperature.
Compressor � The type of compressor for a cold room is determined by the size of the cold room and its desired temperature. Reciprocating compressors use a piston to create positive displacement to move refrigerant gases at high pressure. They are used in cold rooms with a small capacity.
Screw compressors are less noisy and are used with cold rooms with a high capacity. They are smooth operating and considered to be the most reliable type of compressor.
The compressor is the heart of the refrigeration system. It compresses the refrigerant gas to increase its temperature before it enters the condenser.
Condenser � The condenser is a heat exchanger where heat from the refrigerant is transferred to a flow of water that goes to a cooling tower. In the condenser, the refrigerant is under constant pressure, which is controlled and monitored. The hot gas of the refrigerant is cooled to a liquid.
Expansion Valve � In the expansion valve, the refrigerant expands, releases pressure, and experiences a temperature drop. The refrigerant leaves the expansion valve as a liquid vapor mixture. Expansion valves maintain the pressure differential and control the amount of refrigerant that enters the evaporator.
Evaporator � In the evaporator, the refrigerant is at a lower temperature, evaporates, and absorbs heat. From the evaporator, the refrigerant enters the compressor where the process begins again.
Cool Fan � The cooling fan circulates the low temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator into the cold room to help maintain the set temperature of the cold room. They ensure even distribution of the cold air and reduce any temperature variations.
Refrigeration systems for cold rooms come in various configurations. Monoblock systems are compact and fit through a wall or ceiling of the cold room. Split or remote systems feature an external condenser and an evaporator located inside the cold room. The refrigeration system can be integrated into the walls, ceiling, or floor of the cold room, or be part of a larger, all-inclusive system.
Regardless of the specific type or use, essential factors for cold rooms include a tight seal, consistent temperature control, structural stability, effective insulation, and a reliable refrigeration system. Each of these elements must be meticulously planned and engineered to ensure the cold room's success.
Chapter 5: How do cold rooms compare to clean rooms?
At first glance, it might seem that cold rooms and clean rooms have little in common, given their distinct functions. Clean rooms are meticulously designed to maintain an extremely hygienic environment, preventing the intrusion of microbes, bacteria, and other contaminants. In contrast, cold rooms are engineered to ensure a steady and reliable temperature. However, both types of rooms share a key similarity: the need to control and maintain their internal conditions while protecting them from the external environment.
Cold rooms and clean rooms are custom-designed to meet specific requirements and conditions dictated by their intended use. Both are manufactured to comply with industry standards and regulations, but they differ in their regulatory oversight. Unlike cold rooms, which must adhere to national guidelines but are not governed by an international body, clean rooms are subject to stringent standards set by organizations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). These standards classify clean rooms based on their cleanliness levels and capabilities.
Constructing a clean room involves addressing a multitude of regulations, requirements, and standards developed by various national and international organizations, factors that do not apply to cold rooms. Clean rooms must adhere to these comprehensive guidelines to ensure they meet the necessary hygiene and contamination control standards.
Cold Clean Room Design
Biotech companies often require specialized environments such as purification cold rooms and tissue culture rooms for product development. During the 1980s and 1990s, the demand for biotechnology products led to the necessity of class 1000 or class 10,000 clean rooms. However, the high cost of manufacturing clean rooms that also met the stringent temperature requirements of cold rooms prompted the development of standards for "cold clean rooms," which offer a balance of performance and cost-effectiveness.
Biotech cold clean rooms typically feature high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration systems and remote refrigeration units. To ensure balanced air circulation, air balancing flow hoods are employed. Desiccant dryers are used to maintain air circulation on the coldest surfaces, promoting uniform temperatures and preventing the growth of mold and mildew.
These specialized cold clean rooms utilize fan coil units, desiccant dehumidifiers, and fan modules. This integrated design has been widely adopted by the biotech and pharmaceutical industries for decades, meeting both cleanliness and temperature control needs efficiently.
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Chapter 6: Which industries use cold rooms?
Cold rooms are engineered to meet the long-term storage needs of industries handling perishable goods or sensitive equipment. Each industry selects a cold room tailored to its specific requirements and specifications. The need for cold storage spans a diverse range of industries, each with distinct standards and applications.
Commercial Cold Rooms
Commercial cold rooms are designed for caterers, retail outlets, and small businesses. These versatile units can be adapted to a variety of applications and business needs. Depending on the investment, commercial cold rooms can be customized to meet the specific requirements of each business or enterprise.
Vegetable and Fruit Cold Rooms
Vegetable and fruit cold rooms and freezers are among the most common applications for cold storage, designed to keep produce fresh and minimize losses. Given their widespread use, there are numerous models available, each offering various refrigeration methods and atmospheric controls. These cold rooms come in a range of prices to suit different business budgets.
Florist Cold Rooms
Cold rooms for flowers are designed to be highly adaptable to meet the specific needs of different plant species. They aim to extend the freshness of flowers by slowing their metabolism and delaying the aging process. Options for florists include walk-in cold rooms, mobile units, and various types of display cases.
Meat Freezer Cold Rooms
The meat industry relies heavily on cold rooms, starting from slaughterhouses and extending through storage, logistics, and sales. Every stage of meat handling necessitates cold rooms to preserve the flavor, texture, and appearance of the meat. Any lapse in this process can lead to significant losses. Types of cold rooms used in the meat industry include:
Meat Cool Rooms for short term storage with temperatures ranging from 0°C to 5°C (32°F to 41°F).
Meat Freezers that are used for long-term storage with temperatures below -18°C (-22°F).
Blast freezers that are used for rapid freezing to preserve meat for long periods.
Logistic Cool Rooms are for short-term storage during distribution.
Laboratory Cold Rooms
In research and experimentation, precise temperature control is crucial to prevent environmental factors from affecting results. Precision-designed cold rooms with flexible temperature controls are essential in laboratories across various fields, including chemical, biological, physics, electronic engineering, environmental science, and pharmaceuticals. These cold rooms ensure optimal conditions for developing and testing new products and theories. Due to the nature of the work, laboratory cold rooms often feature explosion-proof designs, precision instrumentation, low oxygen controls, and ultra-sensitive temperature controls.
Pharmaceutical Cold Rooms
To ensure that vaccines and medicines maintain their efficacy, they must be stored under precise and stable temperature conditions. Cold rooms, with their tightly sealed construction, are commonly used to preserve pharmaceutical products and medications, providing the necessary environmental controls to maintain their intended effects.
Automobile Wind Tunnel Testing
A unique application of cold rooms is in wind tunnel testing for automobiles, where temperatures can drop to -30°C (-22°F) and wind speeds can reach 130 km/h (80 mph). Known as climate tunnels, these specialized wind tunnels are designed to replicate various weather conditions, including extreme cold, to test the performance and durability of vehicles under simulated environmental stresses.
Chapter 7: What are the benefits of cold rooms?
Cold room systems are highly efficient solutions for cold storage across industrial, retail, and commercial applications. Unlike standard refrigerators, cold rooms are designed for more substantial and long-term cold storage, offering durability and stability. Commonly referred to as freezers and chillers, cold rooms provide a level of performance and reliability that cannot be matched by other types of equipment.
Internal Volume
The most distinguishing feature of cold rooms compared to refrigerators or freezers is their large internal volume, making them ideal for storing bulk quantities of perishable goods. This capability is a key reason for their widespread use across various industries.
Economical
The operating system of a cold room is precisely controlled to maintain a stable and consistent temperature. This meticulous control helps prevent fluctuations, minimizing energy waste and reducing electricity and power consumption.
Flexibility
With adequate space and power, cold rooms can be installed almost anywhere. Their diverse sizes and footprints allow them to fit into both narrow, restrictive spaces and expansive areas. Essentially, there is a cold room solution for any industry requiring cold storage.
Cold rooms can be designed as chillers, freezer rooms, or ambient areas depending on the required temperature ranges. For instance, walk-in freezer rooms can maintain temperatures from 0°C to -40°C (32°F to -40°F). The versatility and ease of use make cold rooms ideal for a variety of conditions.
Product Protection
The tightly sealed construction of a cold room allows it to maintain low temperatures for extended periods, even during power outages. With the addition of remote controls, backup generators, and emergency power systems, cold rooms can continue to function effectively, even in the event of a prolonged power interruption.
Reduction of Spoilage
The consistent and stable temperature of a cold room ensures that stored items are maintained at a uniform temperature over extended periods. This steady environment, coupled with the refrigeration system's control of moisture, helps extend the shelf life of stored products.
Organization
The organizational features of cold rooms facilitate easy inventory control and access to products and materials. With shelves, wall units, and other organizational tools, products can be efficiently positioned and retrieved, simplifying counting and usage.
Chapter 8: How to Choose a Cold Room?
The appeal of cold rooms makes them a highly attractive investment for operations requiring cold storage. Despite their many benefits, it's crucial to select a cold room that aligns with the specific requirements and applications of a business to avoid unnecessary waste and expense. Manufacturers provide criteria that customers can use to identify the appropriate type and nature of cold room they need. Purchasing a cold room marks the beginning of a long-term relationship between the manufacturer and the customer, where ongoing support, guidance, and advice are provided.
Stored Materials
The quantity of products stored in a cold room directly impacts its temperature. Larger items and those requiring more space further influence the temperature. Selecting a cold room involves planning its placement and organizing the stored items. Shelving and racking systems are typically used for convenience and easy access. Since some metals are prone to rust, shelving is often made from PVC or anodized aluminum, which are corrosion-resistant and durable.
Temperature
Despite the variety of cold rooms available, it's essential to determine the precise temperature requirements for the items to be stored. Fragile and delicate items necessitate a more controlled environment compared to sensitive equipment or more robust items. Much of the selection process revolves around the required storage temperature. As temperatures decrease, the cold room must be more robust, durable, and able to withstand lower temperatures.
The ambient temperature surrounding the cold room must also be considered, as it affects the cold room's operation. This factor is important when establishing the cold room's placement.
Power Supply
Industrial cold storage typically requires 380V or three-phase electricity. It is important to position the cold room close to the electrical supply to prevent draining power from other equipment. A constant, uninterrupted power supply is essential for optimal performance.
Ventilation
Like all storage solutions, cold rooms need adequate ventilation to facilitate air circulation and remove any odors from long-stored products. Effective ventilation helps maintain consistent temperatures and preserves the quality of stored items.
Cold rooms require ample space around them to allow heat dissipation. Indoor installations should be planned to ensure that the heat released by the cold room does not affect nearby equipment and tools. For safety reasons, cold rooms should not be placed in confined areas that restrict ventilation.
Available Space
During the initial phase of purchasing a cold room, customers typically assess the size of the space intended for its installation. Manufacturers assist by offering options that align with the available space.
Maintenance
Regardless of a cold room's quality and specifications, regular maintenance and cleaning are essential for optimal performance. Cold rooms are complex industrial systems that require the same level of care as other equipment. A monthly maintenance log should be kept to track cleaning and performance monitoring.
Conclusion
A cold room is a temperature controlled environment that is capable, through refrigeration, to create conditions for storage, experimentation, and preservation of foods, equipment, and medical supplies.
Depending on the type of cold room, temperatures can vary between -40°C and -2°C (-40°F and 28.4°F) in accordance with what is stored and the use of the cold room.
Cold rooms are the first choice when it comes to storing products that require a stable cold environment in order to maintain the integrity and optimal performance of products. The difficulty in regard to selecting a cold room is the wide array of choices that are available since cold rooms are constructed to meet a long list of conditions and locations.
Cold rooms depend on refrigeration systems to create an environment with the proper climatic conditions for the preservation of products and manufacturing processes. They have become an essential part of several industries where extremely low temperatures are necessary.
Cold rooms and clean rooms are similar in that they both require control of air flow and its temperature. With a clean room, the air must be free of contaminants and dust or dirt such that the environment is pure and exceptionally clean. With cold rooms, the maintenance of very low temperatures is a necessity for the preservation of the contents of a cold room.
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Softwall Cleanrooms
A softwall cleanroom is a confined controlled space with a metal frame, clear panel walls, an entrance, high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, and exceptional lighting that is designed to provide a contaminant and particulate matter free workspace...
Types of Cleanrooms
A cleanroom is a specially designed and configured room that has been constructed to eliminate dust particulates and atmospheric contaminants. They are commonly used for scientific research, pharmaceutical production, and other industries that produce products that can be damaged by unsanitary or polluted conditions...