There are different types of cold rooms available, so you want to ensure that whatever cold room you select, it’s the best option for your business and its requirements. The last thing you want is to invest in a cold room that doesn’t last, suit your requirements, or costs more in repairs!
Often people refer to chiller cold rooms simply as ‘cold rooms’ – but the term ‘cold room’ can encompass both walk-in chillers and walk-in freezers. The main difference between a chiller and freezer cold room is the internal temperatures which they maintain. This internal temperature is a crucial part of deciding what cold room will best suit you and your requirements – this is why knowing the differences between cold room solutions is beneficial!
Walk-in chillers and walk-in freezers can be used to store and hold a variety of products – from food / drink products and flowers to pharmaceuticals and vehicle / plane parts. MTCSS design your cold room around what you are storing and how you intend to use it.
Walk-In Chillers & Walk-In Freezers
Chiller Cold Rooms
Chiller cold rooms – also known as walk-in chillers or walk-in fridges – maintain temperatures of between +1°C and +8°C, making them ideal for the storage of food products, flowers, pharmaceutical products and parts which require chilled temperatures.
Freezer Cold Rooms
This highlights the key difference between a chiller cold room and a freezer cold room – temperature. Walk-in freezers range in temperature from -1 degrees to -40 degrees and are ideal for storing frozen foods. As a result of the temperature range being increasingly lower, compared to a walk-in chiller, freezer cold rooms have more powerful refrigeration systems.
Ambient Areas
Ambient areas are available in two options – temperature-controlled and non temperature-controlled. Temperature controlled ambient rooms maintain positive temperatures of between +10 degrees to +30 degrees. Temperature controlled ambient areas are often used for prep areas, pharmaceutical storage or aging rooms.
The main way in which ambient areas contrast from a chiller and freezer cold rooms is due to the fact that it can have temperature control, but it isn’t a necessity. Non temperature controlled ambient areas are built from food safe panel, making them ideal for preparation and production of food products – in addition to office areas, changing areas and more.
What type of cold rooms do MTCSS have available?
MTCSS can offer fully bespoke cold room designs to suit your specifications, budget, and business processes – so what type of cold rooms are available?
- Modular cold rooms – available in specific sizes, for small to medium capacity cold rooms
- Custom cold rooms – available in any size, shape and configuration
- Walk-in chillers – for positive temperatures between +1⁰C and +8⁰C
- Walk-in freezers – for negative temperatures between -1⁰C to -40⁰C
But what if you want a walk-in chiller AND freezer cold room?
MTCSS can supply and install dual compartment cold rooms, which is a combination of a chiller and freezer cold room–essentially, it’s one cold room split into two walk-in compartments with separate refrigeration units.
How Do MTCSS Choose The Cold Room Suitable For Your Business
Our team will work closely with you to design the perfect cold room for your business. We want to understand your business processes and how a walk in cold room or ambient area impacts these. At MTCSS we want to design and build a cold room which will enhance your business processes and help you work more efficiently.
We will ask a variety of questions to understand your requirements in detail, in order to provide you with a quotation and specifications. If you are unsure what you’re looking for, we can talk you through options and what would work best for you dependent on your company and its processes. If you know what you’re looking for and you have drawings or specifications, we can work from these too!
If you would prefer a site survey to discuss your project – we can visit site, take any measurements and discuss your requirements to provide you with a quote for your custom cold room project.
Our Contracts team will work with you to design chiller and freezer cold rooms, ambient areas and any other cold room to suit your requirements. If you don’t know what you want (or need), that’s okay! This is why MTCSS work with your business’ specific requirements and budget – to find a solution that’s right for you.
Get in touch with a member of our team today – fill in an enquiry form here, call us on 01886 833381 or email us at sales@mtcss.flywheelsites.com
Frequently Asked Questions
The secret to temperature-controlled spaces is refrigeration systems.
Monobloks or split refrigeration systems contain all of the component parts needed to chill or cool the air within, making it safe to store chilled or frozen goods.
The main differences between monoblok units and split refrigeration systems are their intended application, but both can cater for:
- Walk-in chillers: 0°C to +8°C
- Walk-in freezers: -10°C to -20°C
It should be noted, if you need to store frozen goods below -20°C or have a very large space required for storage, a split refrigeration system might serve you better.
For more information about what is right for your space and a bespoke quote, call 01886 833 381 or email us at sales@mtcss.co.uk with a few details about what you need and our experienced team will help find the right solution for you.
Unlike a walk-in chiller or freezer that is often built into a room or building, a modular coldroom is constructed from insulated panels that are cam-locked into place.
Constructed on site using the cold room parts that they bring with them, our team can construct your very own modular cold room in just a day or two – wherever you need it.
This allows you to expand your usable footprint beyond the building walls, which can be helpful if your business is experiencing expansion but you are not yet able to move or renovate premises.
To find out if a modular cold room is the best option for you, fill in our contact form or call us on call 01886 833 381 and we’ll get back to you.
Businesses like small shops, spas, and hotels might favour commercial fridges for the storage of drinks, fresh food, and cosmetics.
However, while this might be sufficient for smaller organisations, for very large businesses or premises, this can quickly lead to business delays and unsatisfied customers.
So, why should you choose a cold room instead of commercial fridges if you are finding you need an alternative?
- Cold rooms have a much higher capacity
A very large commercial fridge can have a maximum capacity of around 650 litres, while a cold room can store 3,500 tonnes or more of goods, depending on the dimensions chosen.
- Walk-in chillers and freezers have a longer lifespan
A standard commercial fridge or freezer might last anywhere from 10-15 years, with deterioration expected from around 10 years of age – even for higher quality models.
Cold room fridges and freezers, on the other hand, can comfortably last 20 years or more, especially if you maintain them yourself or opt for a cold room maintenance package from us here at MTCSS.
- You can opt for dual-compartment storage options
Rather than investing in bulky fridges and freezers as and when they are needed, why not future-proof with a more energy-efficient dual-compartment cold room option that can offer both chiller and freezer storage?
If you think a cold room might meet your needs better than commercial fridges and freezers, call 01886 833 381 or email us at sales@mtcss.co.uk to get your project started.
The temperature-controlled air created by your refrigeration system is only useful to your cold room if it has the means of keeping it in.
For this reason, cold room panels and doors are essential to the smooth running and energy efficiency of each cold room space – be it a walk-in fridge or freezer.
Each cold room utilises PIR insulated panels of varying thicknesses to ensure both chiller and freezer spaces can maintain the correct temperature within.
- 80mm MT Chill panels – for chillers and ambient areas
- 100mm MT Freeze panels – for freezer cold rooms
Cold room doors are also essential, helping to ensure access while also maintaining the inner temperatures required. Choose from:
- Hinged cold room doors
- Sliding cold room doors
- Hinged personnel/service doors
- Chiller doors
- Freezer doors
- Atmospheric/specialised doors
Plus, many more!
With the appropriate parts, dual-compartment cold rooms from MTCSS can easily and simply keep your chiller rooms cold and your freezer rooms even colder again – so your goods remain in the best possible condition.
Get in touch today if you need help designing a dual-compartment cold room for your business.