5 effective ways to improve the efficiency of your cold room

Cold rooms and refrigerated warehouses are notoriously energy intensive, and with the cost of electricity bills having been steadily rising over the last few years, energy efficiency has never been more important. As experienced experts in heating, ventilation and air conditioning here at Askews, we thought we’d share some of the most useful and effective ways to maximise the efficiency of your cold room, so that you’re not wasting unnecessary money on energy bills.

Regularly clean your condenser units and evaporator coils

The evaporator coils and condenser unit are both hugely important to the smooth and efficient running of your cold room – the evaporator coils use refrigerant to absorb the heat from the air, and moves the heated air outside via the condenser unit. Dust and debris can build up on both the coils and the outdoor unit over time.

This means they need regular cleaning if they’re to be relied upon to do their jobs effectively, ensuring maximum airflow. If you’re having any problems with the efficiency of your cold room, checking whether your unit or coils are dirty is a good place to start.

Ensure that the door is closed

It may sound so simple as to be almost not worth mentioning, but you might be surprised at how often that turns out to be the source of the problem! Leaving the door open can cause refrigerated air to escape from the space, which requires the system to work harder to keep the overall temperature low.

There can be a number of reasons why the door might be left open – it might be due to items getting in the way to prevent it from closing, or it might be the result of a fault in the mechanism. Alternatively, it could be human error, such as employees leaving it to swing shut, or propping it open while they have a quick conversation. If this is a routine occurrence, it can add up to some notable increases in your running costs.

Keep an eye on the structure of the building

If the door is routinely sealed and you find that you’re still losing energy somewhere along the line, it might be a good idea to check the surrounding walls and ceiling. Chilled air can easily leak out through cracks and other structural damage in the fabric of the building, so it’s important to identify these and take action to rectify them as soon as you can.

Manage your stock carefully

Even if your cold storage room seems energy efficient enough already, it’s still a good idea to regularly review which stock you’re putting in there. It’s not uncommon for some storage rooms to serve as homes for items that might not require refrigeration at all. If you can find examples of these sorts of items amongst your own stock, you can store them elsewhere to free up space in your cold storage room, helping you get more bang for your buck.

On a related note, items that do need refrigeration often require slightly different temperatures, so it’s worth taking the time to ensure that these are all group together on your premises. If an item is at a warm or hot temperature, wait until it has cooled before you put it in your cold storage room, as hot items can actively change the temperature of the air surrounding them – which can affect other items on adjacent shelves.

Be proactive

These are more general bits of advice – it’s certainly worth taking the time to actively monitor the temperature of your cold storage facilities, and regularly review the results. This sort of monitoring is the best way to spot any discrepancies, especially noting any large spikes or drops. If you identify any of these, don’t wait too long to take appropriate action, as it could start compounding your costs over a surprisingly short period of time.

Similarly, take the time to make regular physical inspections and spot checks of your premises, which can help you identify any issues with doors or structural damage that we noted above. And if you do end up noticing anything out of the ordinary, rest assured that at Askews, we’re here to help.

Our highly trained heating, cooling and ventilation engineers have more than 30 years of experience in installing and maintaining air conditioning systems, making us the perfect people to turn to for any issues regarding your system. You can get a free quote right here on our website, or simply give us a call today on 01282 863 825, and we’ll be happy to see how we can help.

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