There are several industries that find it helpful to have a freezer room available. You may already have a cold room, but a freezer room will allow you to really keep products cold. They are most used in abattoirs, meat lockers, and restaurants, as well as supermarkets.
What is a Freezer Room?
Cold rooms or walk-in coolers are quite different from freezer rooms. A cold room is designed to keep multiple products at a specific temperature, sometimes more than one temperature in the same space. In general, they’re designed to keep things cool, but not frozen.
Freezer rooms are a little more complex. The freezer room will tend to be very cold, around -18°C all the way down to -40°C. This will keep everything rock-solid during its time in the freezer room. In most cases, restaurants and supermarkets or catering companies will have both a cold room and a freezer room, depending on the products. For example, cold rooms work best for eggs, butter, cheese, and vegetables, as well as meat that will be used immediately.
Items kept in the freezer room will keep for a long period of time and this may include meats, vegetables, desserts and frozen items that can be thawed for cooking or eating.
Installation of a Freezer Room
Freezer rooms are heavily insulated and will require a form of cooling. The space will have thick, insulated walls, which are designed to keep the cold in. This will reduce the cost of running the freezer room as it will stay cool once the temperature is reduced the first time. The cooling unit will need to just keep it at that temperature.
Your room will also need to have proper ventilation. Without air vents, it will begin to build condensation and this can result in mould and mildew. Not only is this bad for your health and that of your employees, but it’s also a potential disaster if it spreads to your food.
When opening the door, warm air enters the room and this can cause vapour or condensation. When the building space is created, it needs vapour barriers and insulation installed to prevent as much of this from happening as possible. The insulated panels are usually made of polyurethane foam boards and/or steel plates. This will also help prevent fires should one start elsewhere in the building.
Even the floor needs to be insulated, as cold can seep out there or heat can ease up into the space. All the joins will need to be carefully sealed as well, to ensure your space is as protected as possible. You’ll pay far more in energy if the insulation is not properly done.
What to Consider When Installing a Freezer Room
Before you get started with ordering a freezer room, you need to be sure you know what size it will be. This is one of the first things to do. This will depend on how much space you have, as well as what you’ll be storing. If you have enough for a six square metre room, then you’ll likely want to go a little larger to allow for expansion in the future.
The fact that you’ll have enough to fit in the freezer is enough to give you a good room space. However, remember that this is for frozen goods and you won’t spend much time inside. It will be more of a duck inside and grab what you need. This means everything must be laid out with space between rows so you can move fast.
There are many other factors to consider, too. What type of shelving will you use and how will you separate products? Many companies leave the products in the original box so they can see exactly what it is. This also allows you to store the box on the shelves and easily select what you want from the options. If you do this, you’ll need to ensure the shelves are sturdy enough to handle the extra load and that they have the room to slide entire boxes or crates onto the shelf.
If you will take items out of the original package, be sure to have bins or boxes that can be used instead. It’s essential that you find everything you can to keep the space organised, including labels, bins, and anything else you can think of. It’s also a good plan to have a running inventory so every employee marks what they took out of the freezer room. With this information, you can ensure you place the right orders and always have enough of whatever you require.
Finally, you will want to include safety precautions. It can be dangerous inside a freezer room, so the door should have a dual handle which will allow you to get out if you shut the door behind you. However, there should also be an alarm that you can trigger if you do get stuck inside. Likewise, avoid metal shelving or anything that could cause your skin to get stuck.
The Benefits of a Freezer Room
There are several benefits to investing in a full freezer room, rather than just a chest freezer. These include:
Increased Storage
You’ll have far more space to store, sort, and organise your products. If you deal with large amounts of frozen items, you’ll find that it’s simpler to place them in a freezer room, rather than trying to take everything out and fit it into smaller freezers.
You’ll also be able to store entire pieces. For example, a frozen cake can be prepared and there’s no worry about it not fitting in the freezer in your refrigerator. Everything, including crates, can easily be brought in.
Take Advantage of Sales
Is something you need on sale? Most businesses buy in bulk anyway, but if something is available at a lower price than usual, you may purchase extra and simply freeze the excess. This is a simple option, but one that can save you quite a lot of money in the first place.
Keep Stock Fresh Longer
Frozen food doesn’t spoil for a long time. If you have a high-quality freezer room, you should be able to keep food until you need it. The possibility of freezing well below 0°C also means there’s little worry about possible thawing or the product being affected by the slight changes in temperature that may occur when the door is opened.
Faster Access to Products
Whether you need to grab something for the commercial kitchen or you’re just able to reach for more stock to put out on the floor, a freezer room allows for maximum access. Everything is easily within your reach, but just as easy to move out of the room. You can even wheel in a dolly and take everything you need out in boxes. With all the chaos that occurs in a commercial kitchen, this is a welcome change.
You’ll also find what you need easily. This is something that can be quite frustrating when you’re digging through a chest freezer, trying to get something out. There are too many options and it’s all haphazardly piled in there. With a freezer room, everything can be set in order on the shelves. You won’t waste any time finding it.
Adjustable Controls
Not sure you want to deep freeze everything? You can simply turn the temperature up a little. This means your freezer room could become cold storage in a pinch. You’ll find that this makes the space far more flexible and it is likely something you will want to take advantage of when you don’t have enough frozen items to keep the freezer room full.
Are you in the market for a freezer room? Now that you know how they work and are aware of some of the benefits, you can put them to work for you.
Get in Touch
Contact Mitchell’s today to learn more about our cold rooms and freezer rooms. We can get started soon on yours.