We live in an imperfect world. Nothing will ever function at 100% efficiency and there will never be energy use without energy loss. While perfection may be an unachievable goal, in the realm of coolroom & freezer installation, there are materials that take a brilliant step toward the goal.
Company owners in the know insist that their installers use polyurethane panels to surround the freezer. The addition of these plastic panels creates so many benefits that they are very close to being the perfect product.
They are proof against anything living. Let’s face it, any cooled room will create moisture as it removes humidity from the air. Moisture is a haven for tiny creatures from mold to insects to set up shop. To make this even more of a concern, the type of things usually stored in coldrooms are particularly vulnerable to the attacks of such micro invaders. Since polyurethane freezer panels are moth proof and provide virtually nowhere for fungi to get a grip, a perimeter of them creates an impassive pest control system.
There is another thing to consider when thinking about the items that might be placed in a freezer – toxicity. As another drawback of the refrigeration room, toxins that find their way inside have a calm atmosphere in which to seep into anything they encounter. Whether fumes drifting into the area or even given off by surrounding building materials, these toxins can add up to a dangerous situation. Again, our near perfect polyurethane cooler room panels ride in to save the day. Not only do the panels give off no toxins of their own, they provide a barrier that could keep external toxins from penetrating the coolroom.
While these are obviously advantages, they may not be the type of benefits that get the hearts of number minded business people pounding. Maybe this can be accomplished by the insulation factor. Polyurethane freezer panels provide such great insulation that they can actually lower the operation costs 30-40% when compared to a coolroom without the panels. Since all business people understand that money saved is worth more than money earned, this is an exciting prospect indeed.
While all these are good things, it would not be a big deal if the coolroom panels were unwieldy and difficult to install, but the opposite happens to be true. They are very light and last effectively forever if not actually damaged by something.
We live in an imperfect world. While we may never achieve perfection in any application, for creating a barrier around freezers and coolrooms, high quality polyurethane panels come far closer than anything else.
When people think of coolroom & freezer repair, they instantly imagine that it is only necessary in a situation where the room no longer refrigerates. This is a mistake that could be costly if certain situations are not addressed in a timely manner. There are two categories of things the owner of any coolroom should keep an eye on: damage and maintenance.
Damage
These are the type of things that tend to be most visible to casual inspection. There are three things to look for.
The first major damage issue is the compressor failing or faltering. This should be pretty obvious as it will be either silent or far more erratic than normal. The obvious cost of this damage will be spoilage of any materials that need proper refrigeration.
Next is an issue that may or may not be easily spotted – gaps in walls. This could be caused by something literally knocking a hole in the wall, which will be obvious. It could also be caused by settling or shifting of the building. The latter might not be noticeable to casual sight as it could simply create a small space between formerly flush panels. This damage type could create anything from an increase in energy costs to complete failure of the refrigeration system, depending on the nature and extent of the damage.
Lastly, the thermometer and thermostat should be checked regularly to ensure that they are both functional and in sync. These two instruments getting out of sync could indicate another problem that is hurting the refrigeration in the coolroom.
Maintenance
The first, and easiest to spot, maintenance issue is rust. Failure to get the coolroom repaired when rust is spotted could cost money in two ways. First, the rust could contaminate anything stored in the freezer. Second, if left long enough, the rust could cause a catastrophic failure of whatever component where it is found, resulting in possible damage to other parts or things stored in the coolroom.
The second critical maintenance concern is frost buildup. As the refrigeration takes humidity out of the air, that moisture will condense somewhere. If it does so in a manner that it blocks a vent or clogs the compressor, serious damage could result, not to mention spoilage issues as the temperature rises.
The last maintenance concern to inspect is infestation. Mold and other fungi can flourish within a coolroom and release toxins into the contents of the room and the lungs of anyone entering, while insects can wreak havoc on stored material.
Coolroom & freezer repair is not often required. By paying a little attention to regular maintenance and fixing any actual damage immediately, the freezer will function at full capacity for a very long time.
There are some industries where having a cool room or freezer is glaringly important. A supermarket that can not keep its frozen foods frozen is almost certain to fail. Likewise, a bar that can not keep its beer chilled will probably have trouble maintaining regular customers. What too few businesses realize is that installing a freezer or cool room can benefit virtually any company that handles perishable materials, a list of which is far more extensive than one would usually think. Cool rooms are even counter-intuitively beneficial to companies with no physical product.
Any business that deals with food that is not hermetically sealed would benefit from a cool room. Bacteria flourish best in warm environments. By storing food in a cool room, the end result is either less waste or a superior, fresher product.
Laboratories or any other companies that deal with chemicals can benefit from the cool room for the same reason. Chemical volatility almost invariably rises when heat rises. Simply storing volatile chemicals in a very cool environment can drastically reduce the chance of accidents occurring.
While these may also seem obvious, it is less obvious that any company that deals with soft goods, like fabric or paper, would also benefit greatly from installing a cool room. While the coolness itself can help, of greater value is its side effect – low, stable humidity. Everyone realizes that changing heat causes objects to expand and contract. What fewer consider is the fact that most fibrous materials, especially natural fibers, expand and contract with changes in humidity. With the relatively fragile material that comprise such things as paper products of cloth, even this minor expansion and contraction can accelerate the degradation of the product.
While we have seen the advantage of the “cool” part of a cool room, there are also benefits to be reaped from the “room” part. Because of the thick insulation required for the walls of any refrigerated room, cool rooms are virtual vaults. Anything within one is likely to be safer from any disaster than something sitting outside the room. This is one of the key reasons that large corporations tend to build a cool room to house their important computer systems. As much as it stabilizes temperature and humidity, a cool room physically protects items located within it.
Some companies obviously need a cool room or freezer simply to operate, but even those that operate within industries that do not strictly require this can usually benefit greatly from the environmental control that comes with installing one.
C&M Coolrooms can create a custom solution for your specific needs. Talk to one of team members today.