A walk-in cold room is a large, refrigerated space you can physically walk into. They are designed to chill or freeze large volumes of produce. Or, in some cases, even scientific materials and equipment. Because it’s so much larger than a standard fridge or freezer, it stores far more while keeping everything at a controlled, low temperature. In short, it’s a commercial-grade cold storage solution built for environments that need serious chilling capacity.
Below, we answer the most common questions about walk-in cold rooms, including how they work and which type suits your needs.
What Does A Cold Room Do?
As the name implies, a walk-in cold room maintains a low temperature across a space large enough to walk into. That means you can store far more chilled and frozen items than you ever could in a standard fridge or freezer. As a result, they’re particularly useful in fast-food restaurants and similar settings, where large amounts of frozen produce need to be stored and accessed quickly and easily.
How Do Walk-In Cold Rooms Work?
The Different Types Of Cold Room
You may be surprised to learn that there are actually four different types of cold rooms. Here’s how they compare.
The four types of walk-in cold rooms are:
1. Positive Temperature Cold Room (Walk-In Fridge / Chiller Room): Temperature kept low but above 0°C · Typically used in food service environments.
2. Negative Temperature Cold Room (Walk-In Freezer): Temperature kept below freezing · Used in food service and medical facilities.
3. Deep Freezer: Temperature below -30°C · Common in industrial settings and factories.
4. Blast Chiller: Rapidly reduces temperature · Used in kitchens and for food safety.
Positive Temperature Cold Rooms
These are commonly referred to as walk-in fridges or chiller rooms. A positive-temperature cold room is named so because the temperature, while low, is kept above zero degrees. More often than not, these are used in food service environments.
Negative Temperature Cold Rooms
Following on from the above, negative-temperature cold rooms are essentially walk-in freezers, where the temperature is kept below freezing. As well as food service establishments, these are also useful for medical facilities where products need to be kept cold.
Deep Freezers
Sometimes your cold storage solution needs to be extremely cold. If temperatures need to drop below -30°C, a deep freezer is the answer. These are often seen in industrial environments and factories, and they can preserve products for much longer than standard freezers.
Blast Chillers
A blast chiller brings the temperature of any item down quickly. Consequently, it can be used to kill off bacteria or contaminants, and it’s also useful in busy kitchens. Because blast chilling freezes food far faster than a standard freezer, that quicker freeze helps retain more nutrients and vitamins.
For Walk-In Cold Rooms, Choose L McGowan
If you’d like to take advantage of the benefits of any of our cold rooms, get in touch with our team today. We supply and install industrial refrigeration units throughout Cardiff and the surrounding areas.
