Commercial Refrigeration is essential for the production, preparation and storage of food. It helps to maintain quality and more importantly, keep food at a safe temperature to limit the growth of bacteria.
Keeping food fresh, delicious and safe for consumers can be a challenging task for those in the restaurant and food manufacturing industries. We have to put together this guide to commercial refrigeration to help you address these issues and get a better understanding of refrigeration equipment.
Commercial refrigeration keeps both prepared foods and meal ingredients cold by removing heat for convenience and safety purposes. Heat removal has been accomplished by various means over the years, and modern cutting edge technology enables you to achieve this in an energy efficient way.
All refrigeration works via a principle called the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This principle states that when two objects of differing temperatures are brought close together, heat will always travel from the warmer object to the colder one. Using this principle, commercial refrigeration systems utilise a refrigerant solution to transfer heat from the food inside the refrigeration unit’s storage area to the refrigerant.
Refrigerant solutions obey a second physical principle, which states that gases cool as they expand and heat up as they are compressed. While cycling through the refrigeration system, the refrigerant is sent through a series of pressure changes to improve the efficiency and speed with which it removes heat from the refrigerated space to keep it cold.
There are different ways to achieve this effect. CO2 was one of the most widely used refrigerants alongside ammonia in the early 20th century, but was displaced by the early CFC refrigerants, and practically disappeared from use as a refrigerant by the 1950’s. However, as the Global Warming Potential values for HFC refrigerants are several thousand times higher than for CO2, leakage of CO2 gas from a refrigeration system is consequently several thousand times less damaging to the environment than the release of any HFC gas.
Increasing efficiency demands and stringent environmental legislation are driving an increase in the use of CO2 refrigeration.
Green Cooling specialise in designing, specifying and installing CO2 commercial refrigeration systems to provide highly efficient and environmentally sensitive cooling and heating systems for a variety of critical applications. We can provide a bespoke solution to meet the needs of your business. Get in touch if you’d like to learn more.
The obvious benefit of commercial refrigeration is that it allows you to store food safely; essential for any business involved with food/drink production or preparation. Some may think that it is only for large businesses, but it is just as essential for any small cafe or sandwich shop.
In addition to this, food preserves its quality when kept at cold temperatures, so you can keep food nicer, for longer. Being able to store food for longer will save your business time and money. In commercial kitchens, walk in refrigerators, or cold rooms, offer a great deal of space and convenience for cold storage options.
Commercial refrigeration equipment comes in a variety of different shapes, styles and sizes. What works for one business may not be the right solution for another, which is why at Green Cooling we offer a full design and bespoke installation service.
A restaurant or café will probably need a chiller, an oversized walk-in refrigerator (cold room), and deep freezers for large amounts of food and drinks. On the other hand, a bar will require more in the way of specialised beverage and commercial wine coolers.
The size and design of the unit will need to be carefully considered, for instance if it is on display, you might want the design complement the decor of your establishment. If it is for a commercial kitchen, you will want the biggest size manageable, in order to be able to store the most amount of food.
Energy efficiency also needs to be carefully considered. An energy efficient commercial refrigeration unit is not only better environmentally, it will also help to keep your overheads down as it will require less energy to maintain a cold temperature.
Commercial refrigeration maintenance is crucial for any restaurant kitchen, bar or food production facility, because a refrigeration breakdown can be disastrous. Without regular maintenance, your units may be over-consuming energy, or worse, stop working completely, leading to spoiled food. Just one case of food poisoning could tarnish your business reputation, so make sure your produce is kept at the correct temperature with regular servicing of your commercial refrigeration equipment.
There are many benefits to having regular commercial refrigeration maintenance check ups Here are just a few:
