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For startups and small businesses, the option for a remote walk-in cold room instead of (or along with) having an on-site cold room can often prove very advantageous.
However, while many people in the food industry might have heard of a cold room, if you are new to the business you might not fully understand the functions or benefits of an isolated fridge.
So what is a cold room, how can it be used and who commonly rents separate cold storage facilities? We answer some key walk-in cold room FAQs:

FAQs

What is a Cold Room?

A walk-in cold room is a storage solution for perishable items that need to be frozen or chilled to a specific temperature. Think of a refrigerator, but on a much larger scale.
The temperature of a cold room is generated artificially and usually used for commercial refrigeration. Cold storage is most commonly used to keep fresh produce fresher for longer, but they are also great for stockpiling medicines and flowers.

Components of a walk-in fridge; how do they work?

Curious how a walk-in fridge or blast freezer works on such a large scale? Here are the components that make up a cold store chiller:
• Compressor; compresses the refrigerant gas
• Condenser; cools hot gas into a cold liquid
• Expansion Valve; controls flow of liquid gas and expands liquid gas into vapour
• Evaporator Coils; boils and expands liquid gas and cools the coils by absorbing energy
• Refrigerator Fans; circulates air over cold evaporator coils and cools the room
• Cold Room Door; rigid door with excellent insulation to maintain temperature

Who uses walk-in cold storage?

Anyone who needs to keep large or bulk items chilled and frozen can hire a walk-in refrigeration unit for food storage, whether you are a business or individual.
Typically, cold rooms for rent are occupied by food businesses to store their back stock of supplies, without eating up all of the floor space in their dark kitchens with bulky refrigerators. Using chilled storage allows businesses to keep their kitchen fridges clear for the products they are using that day. More space within a walk-in fridge makes organisation and stock-checking much faster.
Pharmaceutical companies also hire walk-in fridges for medicine batches that must be kept at very specific low temperatures.
In the food industry, there are numerous businesses that might use cold rooms, including:

• Pop up food stands
• Food box delivery services
• Catering companies
• Restaurants
• Cooking class businesses

How to keep up with cold room maintenance?

Adequate cold room maintenance and temperature control are vital when a chiller is in use. If the specified temperature of the cold storage room is allowed to rise or fall too drastically, the products contained inside could become unfit for human consumption or medical administration.
When you use Thermozone to hire chilled storage, we conduct regular temperature and safety checks on all our rented cold storage units. By doing so, we can make sure that the room is secure, the temperature is suitable for the stored products, and it also eliminates one job for the occupier of our walk-in chillers.

What are the three main types of food storage?

In the food and beverage industry, there are three main types of food storage, dry, refrigerated and frozen.

Dry Food Storage

Dry food storage means storing items which don’t need a climate-controlled environment to maintain their quality or shelf-life. Typically, foods that can be kept at ‘dry storage’ level are held within pantries or cupboards within or nearby a commercial kitchen space.

Dry storage foods are usually bought in bulk or stockpiled by restaurants, as they have an extremely long shelf-life when compared with fresh fruits or meats. Examples of dry foods include flour, sugar, rice, canned vegetables etc.

Refrigerated Food Storage

Refrigerated food storage refers to foods that require a cool temperature to maintain their freshness and delay their deterioration.

Perishables that require a refrigerated environment must be kept cool at all times, and this usually includes most pre-cooked or ready-to-eat products, fresh and raw foods. Meats, cheese, fruits and pre-prepared meals are examples of food that need refrigerated storage.

Frozen Food Storage

Frozen food storage allows you to preserve foods for a prolonged period of time, that would otherwise spoil fairly quickly in cool or ambient storage temperature. Many restaurants use frozen pallet storage to preserve batch cooked foods that they have prepared in advance to save time, but they won’t be serving over the preceding few days.

What is the temperature of a walk-in cold store?

The temperature of your industrial cold room is entirely dependent on the products you are storing and what they require. In all Thermozone walk-in cold rooms, you have the option to set the unit temperature at ambient, fridge or freezer.

Ambient Cold Room Temperature

If you have chosen the ‘cool’ or ‘room temperature’ setting for your cold store chiller – both are classed as ambient – you should ensure the mercury sits between 8°C and 25°C.

Room temperature is anywhere between 15°C to 25°C, while cold or cool is from 8°C to 15°C; so be sure you have the right setting to keep your food fresher for longer!

Walk-In Cold Room Temperature

Based on European regulations, the standard temperature for a regular refrigerator or a walk-in cold store should be set between 2°C to 8°C.

Walk-In Freezer Room Temperature

If you’re storing frozen goods, you should set your cold room to the freezer setting. For the safe storage of frozen foods, the temperature of your walk-in freezer must be at least minus 15°C or below.

What are the benefits of using a walk-in cold room?

They’re a real space saver

Being tight on space in your commercial kitchen is a constant challenge, which is especially annoying when the stock or equipment consuming your precious space are not things that you need quick and easy access to. External walk-in fridges allow you to keep your kitchen free of bulky refrigerators, creating extra floor space for vital cooking equipment, preparation stations or some extra breathing space for your staff.

Save money

“But a walk-in fridge is an extra expense, how does this save money?”
Due to chaotic fridges in busy food business kitchens, excessive amounts of food is wasted due to fresh fruits and veg spoiling – usually because it becomes lost in the chaos. Walk-in fridges allow you to neatly organize food, so you can clearly see what you have to consume, store everything in date order, and you can ensure all produce is used while it’s still safe and fresh.

Easy accessibility and convenient

We touched on this above, but the large capacity of an industrial cold room makes it easier to display all of your products. Whether you’re storing medicines, food produce or flowers, you can quickly identify and grab what you need when you’re in a rush, and this also helps with preventing wastage!

Customizable to your business needs

Whether it’s rearranging the layout of your walk-in fridge or freezer, adjusting the temperature settings or upgrading to a larger space when you need to, cold rooms offer great scope for flexibility to suit many business types, sizes and purposes.

Is there a maximum or minimum time I can rent chilled storage for?

There are no time constraints when you rent a cold room with Thermozone. Assuming the walk-in fridge has not already been pre-booked, there is no minimum or maximum time limit on the length of your stay.
Before choosing a cold room, it is important to consider exactly how long you’ll need to occupy the storage, as well as the size of the room you need.
Having access to a cold room for a short period of time can come in handy if, for example, a large scale event is being organized. Another common reason for short-term cold room hire is when a business is experiencing technical difficulties and requires the use of an alternative fridge or freezer space to avoid medical or food products going to waste.

Why should I use Thermozone to hire a walk-in fridge?

There are no time constraints when you rent a cold room with Thermozone. Assuming the walk-in fridge has not already been pre-booked, there is no minimum or maximum time limit on the length of your stay.
Before choosing a cold room, it is important to consider exactly how long you’ll need to occupy the storage, as well as the size of the room you need.
Having access to a cold room for a short period of time can come in handy if, for example, a large scale event is being organized. Another common reason for short-term cold room hire is when a business is experiencing technical difficulties and requires the use of an alternative fridge or freezer space to avoid medical or food products going to waste.

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