Keeping a cold space at the appropriate temperature is essential when protecting the quality and effectiveness of the products being stored. Food processing and pharmaceutical drugs often rely on low-temperature conditions to maintain high quality and require product be stored in refrigerated chambers. When the storage facility cannot maintain proper temperatures, it affects the integrity and effectiveness of potentially life-saving drugs. Food and beverage distributors also rely on proper cold storage to protect their products, preventing them from going bad or negatively impacting the customer. Food is a sensitive product that requires specific preparation, cold environment procedures, and a sealed doorway. The main purpose of a cold room is to protect food, drugs, and other temperature-sensitive products. Some items require a freezer, while others only need refrigeration, but all demand stable temperatures. The doors you select to protect the cold storage building envelope greatly impact its performance. Factors like door panel thickness, speed of opening, and optional accessories can all affect the integrity of a cold room.
Controlling the Heat Exchange
The primary challenge for operators of cold storage facilities is maintaining an adequate temperature for their products. Some items like food require freezers, while others need cold rooms that are above freezing temperatures. The best way to address these concerns is to use the correct doors that keep the warmer air out as much as possible. Ensuring that your cold room is using adequate thermal breaks keeps the coolers cold and the freezers freezing. Since freezing chambers require lower temperatures, they need extra insulation and cold-proof doors to maintain a steady temperature. Using specialized cold room doors helps to withstand temperature fluctuations. Constantly opening and closing a cold storage door allows heat to enter the cold room, making maintaining the necessary cold temperature challenging. Cold room doors are specially designed to minimize thermal exchange.
Choose the Right Cold Room Doors
Choosing doors that fit the unique structure of your cold room is critical to maintaining a proper temperature. The right type of door will help control temperature and not impede operations. When it comes to choosing cold room doors, you have a lot of options.
Swinging or In-fit Cold Room Doors
A hinged door for your cold room works like the doors in your home or office building. Hinged doors, or swinging doors, are a popular option for small doorways. Swinging doors operate by opening into one side of the area. The width of your door panel will be determined by the size of your opening. A facility may prefer swinging cold room doors to reduce passage space through a refrigerated chamber. Swinging doors provide a secure doorway and they provide a safe exit for these rooms.
Sliding Cold Room Door
Sliding doors are another popular door panel option for cold rooms. Unlike swing doors, they save floor space by sliding across the wall and providing full opening height access. Sliding doors require specialized seals to insulate a cold room properly. The type of seal needed will depend on the technical characteristics of the cold room. While a swinging door is ideal for a small doorway, a sliding door works best for large doorways. They will typically have wider door jambs requiring thicker freezer doors. Using sliding cold room doors instead of swinging doors saves space and creates a more straightforward entryway.
High-Speed Doors
High-speed doors are ideal for intensive operations with heavy traffic and large doorways. The main purpose of a high-speed door is to open and close a passageway as efficiently as possible. High-speed freezer doors effectively protect the thermal insulation of a room by allowing as little heat in as possible while keeping the cold in. Although some high-speed doors can be used for small doorways, most facilities prefer to use them for large doorways. Their ability to quickly close and open makes them an ideal option for large openings, keeping the maximum amount of cold in the room.
Your Cold Room Doors Experts
Whether you are in the business of storing food, pharmaceuticals, or any other item that requires a cold environment, ASI Doors can help you select the proper door system for your application. Choosing cold room doors that protect sensitive temperature conditions and thermal breaks is essential when constructing a cold room. ASI Doors offers cold room doors that fit those unique needs including:
- Sliding door
- Swinging door
- Small doorways
- Large doorways
- Washdown requirements
If you are struggling with your decision, ASI Doors can help. We specialize in these applications and other high performance door solutions. Contact us today at (800) 558-7068 or sales@asidoors.com.