Those units that you see once you walk into a food station, beverage shop, or even a flower shop – yes those are the commercial refrigeration units! But what are these and how do they differ from the regular residential refrigerators? First of all, if you are a future business owner, you might be interested in the cost and efficiency of the same. To that the answer is easy and simple – they cost more than your household refrigerator but are doing a better job as well.
Food stations or shops ask for a huge amount of products to be stored and kept from spoiling while at the same time being easy to reach in any given moment. What is great about commercial refrigeration units is that though they are more energy demanding, there are the ENERGY-STAR friendly units that benefit the environment. The difference between regular refrigerators and these are the fact that normal evaporators and motors are replaced by ECM evaporator as well as the condenser fan motors. But be sure that though they cost more, they are making you stand out in front of the competition while protecting your surroundings. Isn’t that great?
Now, let’s take a look at what is a commercial refrigerator and how it works.
Source: ianboer.com.au
What Are The Principles That Commercial Refrigerators Lie On
First of all, you have to know that commercial refrigerators do run on much higher energy than the residential ones. For example, a classic reach-in commercial unit can waste up to 38,000-kilowatt hours for one year, while the number for the residential one is almost three times lower. Still, as mentioned above if you go for the eco-friendly options there is nothing to worry about. Commercial refrigerating units work on the Second Law of Thermodynamics. And as you might already know from your school classes, it suggests that when two products that differ in temperature are put alongside, the cold one attracts all the heat. Thus by using this principle and refrigerant solutions, a cycle of removing the heat and keeping the products cold is formed.
Now, one might ask well what refrigerant solution should I use? If we would talk low-cost and efficiency it would surely be Freon. But, the problem with this one is that although it was the most popular research has shown that it damages Earth’s ozone, and thus many of the countries are prohibiting it. Now, environment-friendly solutions like tetrafluoroethane are taking its place and proving that eco products are always more effective.
Different Commercial Refrigeration Units
- Classic Reach-In Unit. The classic commercial refrigeration unit is very similar to the regular residential refrigerator, but with much better design and greater capacities. Excellent for any busy restaurant it offers two sections with various temperature capacities, and easy to reach shelves!
- The Mini Reach-In. Very similar to the previous one, this has somewhat smaller capacities, but it is still excellent to store sandwiches, beverages or any other ingredients that you might need. And a huge benefit is that you can use the top of it as a preparation table. In the end, the glass sliding doors make the products presentable and simple to reach, and the whole unit is pretty easy to move around.
- This one is mostly used in the food retail stores. Offering big capacities and shelves that can fit any type of product, this unit with its front ventilation and sliding doors has an excellent design for presenting things. Store owners usually go for it when some products are soon to expire, and thus make the consumers buy it.
- Ultimate Station. The ultimate station is everything you would ask for when buying a commercial refrigeration unit. It has a number of shelves for storing multiple needed ingredients or prepared food in a cold environment while having a big preparation table up top. A great thing for any food or pizza station.
- Reach-In Bar. A classic bar refrigerator that is most common in the beer and wine shops makes a great option when you want an efficient unit that still presents the products. This bar allows the worker to easily maneuver the products, while the customer can take a look at what is left!
Source: ianboer.com.au
Summary
We do think that commercial refrigerators are the future, and although the price is higher, in the long-term these are more energy efficient (if you go for the eco—friendly unit, and why wouldn’t you?). Also, other than being great for food and beverage businesses, these units are a great option for bigger households as well!
