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Improving Cold Storage Efficiency and Productivity
Posted: 12/15/21

Industries with cold storage facilities have the unique responsibility of properly storing cold or frozen products. Doing so requires a high level of cold storage efficiency and productivity.

From insulated doors to the latest freezer technology, you have a lot of factors to consider for your professional cold storage. To protect your products and improve energy efficiency, follow this guide on increasing cold storage productivity that saves energy.

Keep the Fan and Condenser Clean

You can find most condenser units on the outside of your building. This unit helps your building maintain appropriate temperatures by removing unwanted heat. However, without a fully functioning condenser, your cold storage operations become much more challenging.

Because it is an outdoor unit, the condenser and fan are subject to outdoor debris. Like any other equipment in your building, your condenser unit requires regular maintenance to perform at its best. This includes regularly cleaning debris out of the fan to keep it running at appropriate speeds.

Without regular cleaning, your fan and condenser are subject to debris build-up. Over time, this build-up can create clogs and prevent your system from working effectively. Checking your unit and clearing it of debris at least once a month is a simple step that can help you improve the efficiency of your freezer technology.

Check for Mold

Your cold storage room handles a lot of condensation. When your building has cracked floors or structural issues, the collection of condensation can turn into freezer mold.

Mold causes more than an unseemly look. It can affect the quality control of the items you have stored in the freezer, including food and other frozen products. It also impacts the indoor air quality of the building, which can affect the safety of your workers.

One of the best things you can do for your cold storage room is regularly checked for mold. Catching it early is the key to preventing it from spreading and causing more significant damage.

To minimize mold risk, install a high-speed freezer door. A high-speed door creates a tight seal with fast door opening speeds. This allows for easy movement that won’t let out the cold air.

How Can You Prevent Mold Growth in Cold Rooms?

  1. Don’t retrofit the freezer. Using it only to store cold items will reduce heat transfer and prevent mold growth.
  2. Clean out the freezer regularly. Debris like dust and cobwebs can quickly collect in cold rooms and support mold growth.
  3. Maintain effective ventilation. Poor ventilation is one of the leading factors of mold growth in cold rooms. Keeping the vents clean and ensuring that your storage room has proper airflow will reduce mold potential.

Take Care of the Condenser Coils

Another critical component of your cold room’s air exchange is the evaporator. The evaporator has the vital job of managing heat exchange so that the freezer room remains at an appropriately low temperature.

A key part of this process is the condenser coils. These coils look like a series of loops next to each other in the air handler. The coils hold liquid refrigerant, which is critical for releasing enough cold air to satisfy the freezer demands.

As the air handler’s fan blows air into the system, the coils cool the air and remove heat from the cold storage room. The refrigerant collects this heated air and redirects it away from the cold storage area or freezer and towards the outdoor unit.

Keeping these coils clean is essential to improving cold storage efficiency. Since it is a part of an outdoor unit, the condenser coils are subject to debris collection.

Over time, dirt and debris can build up in the system and cover the coils. The coils cannot effectively cool the cold storage room when this happens, leading to higher energy bills and a less efficient system. In more severe cases, debris build-up on the coils can cause the system to overheat.

Regularly checking your evaporator and condenser coils for debris is an easy way to ensure that your system maintains proper airflow. It is also essential to check for refrigerant leaks.

Leaking refrigerant not only affects the efficiency of your cooling system but can create a dangerous situation as refrigerant is a poisonous substance. Always consult factory instructions when cleaning the coils.

Maintain an Appropriate Indoor Air Temperature

Regularly checking your thermostat settings can help you ensure that your cold room stays at appropriately low temperatures. The constant traffic of employees or customers entering and exiting the cold storage area means more warm air is coming in.

A critical part of maintaining proper indoor air temperatures is having effective insulation. Without adequate insulation, your cold room is subject to constant temperature fluctuations.

One way to ensure that your building’s cold room is properly insulated is to invest in a high-speed roll up door. High-speed roll up doors are designed to create a strong seal that keeps the cool air in and the warm air out, even with the constant opening and closing of the freezer door.

Find Quality High-Speed Roll-Up Freezer Doors

One of the most important things you can do for your freezer is getting an effective high speed freezer door installed. A significant benefit of a high-speed roll up freezer door is that its impressive opening speed lets in minimal heat to maintain adequate cool temperatures.

How Does a High-Speed Roll Up Door Work?

As the name implies, a high-speed roll-up door quickly opens and closes by rolling up the side guides. Its high-speed operation and impressive freezer insulation capabilities make it easy to improve efficiency and productivity in your building’s freezer. For example, the movement of many cold storage doors can open up to 70 inches every second.

Some high-performance doors come with heated side columns. These heated side guides allow you to defrost a freezer door curtain and prevent ice build-up and frost. Made of galvanized steel, the side guides and bottom bar will also enable the freezer door to have a fast opening and closing speed.

How Do High-Speed Doors Improve Efficiency?

High-speed roll-up freezer doors are energy-efficient and can work for a variety of industries. Whether you have a big freezer full of food or a warehouse that needs to remain at relatively low temperatures, a quality freezer door is an essential tool to have.

One of the main ways cold storage doors improve efficiency is by saving energy. The soft bottom edge and side guide of each freezer door curtain is designed to create a tight seal and act as an insulated curtain. High speed doors are also made with energy-efficient materials that save energy and prevent ice build-up.

The opening speed of these high-performance doors helps prevent frost and controls the amount of air that comes in and out.

What Is a Self-Reinserting Door Curtain?

A self-reinserting door curtain is among the most valuable types of high-speed doors.

For example, if an employee runs into the roll-up door or something collides with it, a roll-up door curtain can come out of the side guides. Should this happen, reopen and close the high-speed door. Once you do this, the speed roll-up door will realign itself to fit back into the frames.

A self-reinserting door curtain is an excellent addition to any freezer room because accidents are bound to happen. The self-reinserting roll-up door curtain saves your business both time and money with impressive durability and a high opening and closing speed.

What Are the Benefits of Using a High-Speed Door? 

Getting a high-speed roll-up door installed offers several advantages.

They Improve Security

Protecting your cold room products includes more than preventing frost build-up. A quality high-speed door can help prevent intrusions and theft.

Most high-speed doors are equipped with security features that help prevent theft. Not only do they create a tight seal, but they can also come without rubber gaskets. This makes it harder for intruders to cut through the freezer door and access the cold storage items or equipment.

They Protect Employee Safety

Your employees’ safety is among your business’s top priorities. High speed doors are not only durable but flexible. The flexible features of a high-speed roll-up door help protect the safety of your employees by reducing the risk of injury due to collisions or operation malfunctions.

They Have an Easy Maintenance Process

You likely have several other appliances in your building that require regular maintenance. Thankfully, a quality high speed roll door comes with minimal maintenance requirements.

An important part of the freezer room and building maintenance is regularly cleaning the areas to protect the quality of food and other frozen products. The PVC material of a roll-up door makes it easy to clean away debris and prevent frost build-up. This is especially useful for food-related industries.

They’re Power Operated

Part of the reason why roll-up insulated doors have high opening speeds and closing speeds is that you can open or close a high-speed door with the press of a button. This not only saves you time but simplifies operations.

In case of a power outage, many high-speed doors come with a manual option so that you can still access freezer items.

They Help Keep the Storage Area Clean

As previously mentioned, high speed freezer doors create a strong seal. This not only keeps the cool air in but prevents debris and dirt from coming in. As a result, you spend less time cleaning the area and more time focusing on business operations.

No cold room storage is complete without the freezer technology of a high-speed roll-up door. Call ASI Doors in Milwaukee, WI, at (800) 558-7068 to learn more about how a high-speed roll-up door saves energy and improves freezer productivity.

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