COLD STORES


FANS


Without air curtain


With air curtain


and commissioning all play a major role in determining eff ectiveness.


Looking beyond the refrigeration plant Historically, cold store effi ciency discussions have focused mainly on refrigeration systems themselves - compressors, evaporators, refrigerants, and controls. Those areas remain critical, particularly as the industry continues adapting to refrigerant phasedown legislation and wider decarbonisation targets. However, there is growing recognition that refrigeration


effi ciency is heavily infl uenced by what happens outside the plant room.


Even highly effi cient systems become less eff ective when


refrigeration load is constantly increased by uncontrolled heat transfer through entrances and access points. As a result, operators are taking a more holistic


approach to cold store performance. The focus is shifting beyond refrigeration equipment alone towards the wider environmental behaviour of the facility itself. That includes insulation, traffi c movement, door management, environmental separation, and airfl ow control. One of the less discussed challenges within cold storage is


temperature inconsistency inside the space itself. Areas close to entrances often experience localised warming caused by repeated warm air ingress. Over time, these “hot spots” can aff ect sensitive products stored near doorways and reduce usable storage space within the facility. For sectors such as food production and pharmaceuticals, maintaining stable environmental conditions is becoming increasingly important for both compliance and product integrity. Temperature fl uctuations also force refrigeration systems to


respond more aggressively, increasing compressor activity and overall energy demand.


Reducing sudden thermal changes near access points can


therefore improve both product protection and refrigeration effi ciency at the same time. This refl ects a wider shift happening across the industry. Increasingly, cold store performance is not being measured


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simply by how low temperatures can be maintained, but by how consistently conditions can be controlled across the entire environment.


Safety and operational effi ciency The eff ects of uncontrolled airfl ow extend beyond energy performance alone. When warm, moisture-laden air enters a refrigerated


environment, condensation rapidly forms around entrances, fl oors, and evaporators. In low-temperature applications, this can quickly freeze and create signifi cant slip hazards. In busy cold stores where vehicles and pedestrians operate simultaneously, visibility and accessibility around doorways also become important operational considerations. Traditional physical barriers such as strip curtains can


help reduce thermal exchange, but they may also impede movement, reduce visibility, and require ongoing maintenance in high-traffi c environments. This is one reason airfl ow-based environmental separation is


attracting greater attention across the sector. There are also wider hygiene considerations. Managing


airfl ow between spaces can help reduce the movement of airborne dust, fumes, insects, and external contaminants into sensitive refrigerated environments - particularly important in food and pharmaceutical applications where hygiene standards are tightly controlled. What is becoming increasingly clear is that cold store


effi ciency can no longer be viewed purely through the lens of refrigeration equipment. The industry focus is shifting from simply generating cooling capacity to controlling how refrigerated environments behave as a whole.


That means understanding how air movement, traffi c fl ow, and doorway management aff ect thermal performance. As energy costs continue to rise and sustainability pressures intensify, reducing unnecessary thermal exchange is likely to become an even greater priority across the refrigeration sector. Because ultimately, the future of effi cient cold storage will depend not only on how eff ectively facilities generate cooling, but on how eff ectively they control the environment around it.


www.acr-news.com • July 2026 23


"In busy facilities


where doors are opening continuously throughout the day, these losses can quickly add up. That is why airfl ow management is becoming a much bigger conversation across the refrigeration sector."


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