Commercial or industrial cool rooms keep products at the required temperature for as long as needed. Grocery stores, restaurants and other food service providers, and laboratories are all organisations that typically have temperature-sensitive goods that require refrigeration and have a cool room located somewhere on their premise.
A cool room plays an important role in keeping goods safe and preserved. But before having a cool room installed, there are a few factors that need to be considered. Here are our top four things to bear in mind before installing a cool room.
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1. Sizing and Dimensions
The sizing of a cool room depends on the needs of one’s business. Smaller businesses in particular may find themselves in a difficult situation when it comes to building a cool room as they may not want to spend too much and prefer a smaller option but have plans for scaling in the future. The bigger the size of a cool room, the greater the cost and the higher the ongoing cost for maintenance. In addition to sizing, one needs to also consider the dimensions of their cool room and have it fit their available space.
2. Entry Points and Location
Another important aspect to having the most effective commercial cool room for a business is to decide on where the room will be located and how many entry points there will be. The physical location of the room can effect a lot of things, including how the room most optimally functions.
Consideration also needs to be given to entry points. Having the proper entry points is important for staff to conveniently gain access to items.
In a smaller space, a popular option tends to involve the use of sliding doors as swinging doors require more space. Sliding doors therefore better work for cool rooms where space is not in abundance.
3. Well-Designed Shelving
Another important consideration involves the right shelving, which ideally needs to work with the space and be fit for the function of the industrial cool room.
Before even building out the cool room, one should map out how things should be stored. With the right planning, you can know where shelving needs to go, what it will hold, and how to make the required things most accessible.
Choosing the type of shelving material is a further consideration that should be made. Certain shelving materials are more durable than others while others are better for holding heavier items or providing flexibility if shelving needs to be adjusted.
4. Functionality and Specifications
Some businesses require extremely specific cool rooms for products that can’t go in normally cooled environments. Products may have specific temperature and humidity requirements that keep them from being stored in just any refrigeration unit. In other cases, security is of high priority due to what is being stored in the cool room. The specific requirements of the products and items you want to store need to be considered for your cool room to be developed in a way that ideally fits your needs.
Final Thoughts
Failing to put in the due thought and consideration into the planning and design of a cool room can waste of time, resources and money. Planning is vital in the creation process, ensuring that all business needs are met before construction begins.
Finally, cost is important but it should not be the only factor considered in building a cool room. The precise short-term and long-term needs must be thoughtfully considered to find the cool room solution that will be best for the present and for the many years to come.
Read also: How to Cool Your Home in Summers?