COLD ROOMS

NOTES
Cold rooms are designed

•–
• To receive and store fresh / frozen food or pre-cooled products
• For food processing.
• For food packaging.
• Shape future designs [temperature consistency, food quality
(humidity/structure, etc.), and monitor/control/ alert]
Types of
Cold Room
 Refrigeration Circuit for Cold Rooms -
Simple
A simple
refrigeration
circuit can be
used for a cold
room. It has a low
cost and a low
level of
complexity, but it
also has some
disadvantages
such as poor
temperature
accuracy and the
risk of product
dehydration.
Refrigeration Circuit for Cold Rooms - Complete

• Refrigeration Circuit for Cold Rooms - CompleteEvaporating pressure regulator

(KVP) for product protection.
Crankcase pressure regulator (KVL) for protection of the compressor.
Condensing pressure regulator used to control the condensing pressure with KVR
and NRD to ensure stable operation.
Sight glass after filter drier indicates the humidity in the system
Sight glass before solenoid valve detects the presence of flash gas.
Check valve (NRV) prevents the liquid migrating to the coldest evaporator during
standby time.
Oil separator (OUB) reduces the oil circulation in the circuit, improving the heat
transfer in the condenser and evaporator
Filter dryer (DCL/DML) removes the humidity of the system.
When there are more than 2-3 evaporators, there is very often more than one
compressor.
7 principles of haccp
• Hazard analysis
• Determine the Critical Control Points (CCP’s)
• Establish critical limit(s)
• Establish critical control point monitoring requirements
• Establish corrective actions
• Establish record keeping procedure
• Establish procedures for ensuring the HACCP system is working as
intended
Cold chain
Types of food products
Food quality
• Food quality is a term used to describe both physical and individually
perceived factors.
• Physical factors: Type and level of bacterial contamination and chemical
processes, type and quantity of food preservatives added.
• Individually perceived factors: taste, color, smell, consistency, etc...
 A cold room controls...
• Microbiological process
• Chemical process
• Mechanical process
• Humidity
• Air velocity
• Atmosphere
• Cooling process
• Storage time
Influence of humidity on food quality
• Growth of micro-organisms is also influenced by humidity
of the surrounding air.
• Water content in food product helps microorganisms to
grow.
• Low humidity removes water content from the food
product, results in loss of weight and quality.
• So its necessary to maintain the humidity of surrounding
air to keep food products fresh and increase the lifetime.
• In order to maintain a constant and correct humidity, the
temperature must be kept constant.
• Depending on the products stored, it is necessary to add
humidity in the cold room by using a dampener to ensure
a correct level of humidity.
Influence of air velocity on food quality
• Brewing rate (new air volume/initial air volume = brewing rate) ensures
good air quality in the cold room.
• The air velocity influences cooling and dehydration of the product.
• Higher air flow velocity increases the heat transfer of the product and the
dehumidification rate.
• Increase air dehumidification rate causes loss of water content from the
product.
• So we need to maintain correct level of airflow velocity in the system.
• Product factor (PF) depends on the air velocity and the type of food
product.
Influence of air velocity on food quality - Product factor (PF)

• This graph shows the values for

product factors for different
products and air velocities.
Generally, higher velocities increase
the product factor, which also will
increase the dehumidification rate.
Some products have surfaces that
are very sensitive to
dehumidification (lettuce,
mushrooms) while others are not
that sensitive (apples and melons).
Cold room - Refrigeration circuit
Cold room construction
We have to consider the following facts while constructing a cold room.

• Thickness of insulation in the walls

• Insulation value of the insulation walls.
• Door frame heating to avoid frost formations preventing door from opening.
• Floor heating must be done to avoid ground freezing of soil.
• Air change.
• Ventilation under the floor.
• Pressure relief valve in wall to equalize pressure between room and ambient (Two-way pressure
equalization).
• A stripped curtain/air door.
• Man in cold room alarm is mandatory for negative temperature cold rooms and if the volume is over
10 m3 (ISO 27000). In the other cases, it is recommended to have this kind of alarm. This alarm has
to be acoustic-visual.
• Note: If there is no pressure equalization in a cold room, the air inside is cooled and ”shrinks”
thereby creating a vacuum. The walls and ceiling then collapse.
Cold rooms applications
Automatic controls
• Automatic controls are used to optimise the operation of a refrigeration system under any
working conditions and to keep the food products safe for a long period of time.
• Devices such as thermostatic expansion valves (TEV), solenoid valves (EVR), pressure and
temperature controls (KP), etc. are used for the following purposes:
• Optimising the evaporator (EVR, TEV, AKV, ETS, controllers)
• Controlling room temperature (EKC and KP thermostats, controllers)
• Pumping down (EVR, KP pressostat, KP/EKC thermostat)
• Controlling the condenser fan (on-off KP or variable speed XGE)
• Defrosting
• Natural defrost (static) (stop > off time) (EKC, controllers).
• Electric (EKC, controllers, resistors).
• Hot-gas defrost (EKC, controllers, solenoid valve).
¡The pump down process!
• The pump down process is required to avoid liquid migrating to the compressor.
• A pump down cycle design is required when evaporators are fitted with electric
defrosting heaters.
• The pump down process is carried out by closing a solenoid valve using a
defrost controller such as an electronic thermostat. The compressor continues
running until the evaporator contains no liquid refrigerant. Then the suction
pressure is reduced, and the pressure control cuts out the compressor.
• This is mainly for 1:1 systems.
• The circuit contains a solenoid valve (EVR), a thermostatic expansion valve
(TEV), a defrost controller such as a thermostat (KP/EKC), and a pressure
controller (KP).
• Flash-gas
• En refrigeración, se denomina flash-gas a la formación de burbujas de gas en la
línea del líquido, que viene desde el condensador hacia el dispositivo de
expansión.
• Frost
•–
• Frost is frozen water (humidity) on the surface of an air cooler. The frost on the evaporator may have
different forms -- as snow (like snow-dust / snowflakes), as solid ice, or in between these two stages.
• Frost comes from the dehydration of the goods and the humidity from the air (the air passing through the
air cooler).
• Frost builds up on the surface of an air cooler when the temperature of the cooling surface is below 0°C.

• Defrosting
•–
• Defrosting is the process of removing the frost that has built up on the surface of the evaporator. It can be
carried out by the application of heat coming from electricity, from hot/cold gas from the high pressure
side, from hot air from cold room itself, from hot water, or from a combination of some of these.
• How often does defrosting need to be
done, and for how long?

• This depends on the products stored and

their humidity, the frequency of people
moving inside the cold room, the number
of times the door is opened per day, air
infiltration and the humidity of the air, etc.
• Defrosting must be carried out as often as
necessary and before it is too late.
• If the defrosting period is too short and not
all the ice is melted, even more ice will
build up.
Defrosting methods
Natural
• Natural defrosting using air is possible when the
cold room temperature is greater than +4°C.
• The cooling for the cold room is stopped, and the
fan continues to run.
• This method may take a long time.
• A higher room temperature will make the
defrosting go faster.
• Water defrosting is another type of natural
defrosting method, but this is a dangerous
method.
• Water is sprayed over the cooling surface, and
may easily spill into the room.
• It is an old-fashioned defrosting method and is
not recommended.
Defrosting methods
Electrical
• Electrical defrosting is an easy method.
• You only need to install electrical
heaters in the air cooler and connect
them using electric cables.
• From an operational point of view it is
an expensive method of defrosting,
because it consumes a lot of energy.
• However, on some systems it may be the
only possible method of defrosting.
• Defrosting can be started manually on
demand and end at a set temperature or
after specific time.
Defrosting methods
Hot gas • The hot gas used is high pressure gas from the
high pressure side of the refrigeration system.
• In principle, hot gas defrosting system saves
energy.
• Hot gas defrosting is a relatively complicated
method of defrosting and is mainly used in large
systems with more than 3 to 4 evaporators. The
evaporators can operate at the same time as the
air cooler which is going to be defrosted.
• More valves are needed for hot gas defrosting,
and the control system is more complex as well.
• The simplest version, a hot gas bypass from
discharge to the evaporator inlet, is shown in the
diagram. This method does not save energy. A
suction accumulator is needed to protect the
compressor.
• A suction pressure regulator protects the
compressor against high suction pressure.
Climatic Design Information
• Heat transfer depends on ambient
temperature. Therefore, it is very important
to know the climatic conditions in the place
where the cold room is to be installed, in
order to calculate the cooling load correctly.
• DB = dry bulb temperatures corresponding to
the 0.4%, 1% and 2% levels of annual
cumulative frequency of occurrence and the
mean coincident wet-bulb temperature. This
is the temperature used as the outdoor
temperature for cooling load calculations
Refrigerants en cold ambients
• The temperature inside cold rooms is normally between 0 and+6°C, and in
frozen food storage about –20°C, but the outside air temperature may be as low
as –30°C or even lower.
• During compressor standstill periods the refrigerant has a tendency to collect at
the coldest place in the refrigeration system. The safest method is to install
everything except the condenser inside a heated building.
• Instead of using an ON/OFF control with separate pressure controls, the
condenser fan speed should be controlled.
• This is the best way to avoid flash gas occurring and to ensure proper expansion
valve operation.
• In the receiver most of the subcooling is lost, so, when the condenser fan starts,
the pressure will decrease in the liquid line. The state of the liquid will change
to a mixture of liquid and vapour, so flash gas will be seen in the sight glass.
• Sometimes too much refrigerant is charged in the system. Despite the
condenser fan cycling, no flash gas can be seen in the sight glass due to
excessive subcooling. However, this may cause problems in warm weather.
• In general, the best way to ensure an acceptable service life for the compressor
is to fit it with an effective crankcase heater and use ”pump down” control.
 Refrigeration in Cold Ambient - Cold Rooms - Oil and Refrigerant
• If the compressor has no crankcase heater and stops
without pump down
•–
• When the pressure in the crankcase is 6 bar and the
oil temperature is 20°C, the refrigerant content in
the oil may be as high as 20%. When the
compressor starts and the pressure decreases the
oil cannot "hold" the refrigerant that evaporates,
and this causes oil foaming.
• Oil is carried away from compressor and may even
cause liquid hammering.
• If the compressor is fitted with a crankcase
heater
•–
• The oil temperature is 35°C, and if compressor
is stopped using pump down so that the
pressure is 1 bar, there will only be a little
refrigerant in the oil.
• When the compressor starts and the pressure
decreases, then as there is only a little oil, oil
foaming will not be produced.
Shopping Centres - Greater Refrigeration Capacity
• Energy saving • Night mode
• Two temperature levels • Hot-gas defrosting
• Capacity level on demand • Heat recovery
• Start sequence of compressors • Sophisticated automatic controls
• Oil separators with oil level • Central control and monitoring
control • Building management system
• Optimizing COP
• The products to be stored should enter at
about the storage temperature.
• Cooling capacity of a room depends upon
the process, not on the volume of the room.
• The temperature of the products to be
cooled or frozen is higher than the cooling
or freezing room temperature.
• Daily product turnover generally varies from
certain % to 100% of the storage capacity.
• Warm product temperature has to be
decreased/frozen normally within 24 hours.
• Average cooling capacity per volume
[W/m3].
• Quick refrigeration
•–
• Food that has not been served after
cooking or that can not be kept at a
minimum temperature of 60°C has to
be cooled as soon as possible
• Critical temperature range of cooked
food: +60 to +10°C
• Cooling time should be as short as
possible: 4 to 6 hours
• Freezing
•–
• In freezing tunnels the process is continuous.
The product is usually put on a belt that moves
slowly through the tunnel.
• Product freezing temperature range: 0 to -18°C
• Freezing speed as quick as possible: often 1cm/h
• Continue freezing temperature of the product
until-18°C
• Freezing temperature: usually -30°C to - 40°C
• Storage period depends on product type: up to
1 year
Cooling Load Calculation
Infiltration and Safety factor
Calculation of LMTD (Logarithmical
Average (Mean) Temperature Difference)
• The temperature of air decreases
progressively as it passes through an
evaporator, it is assumed that the drop in
temperature happens at a constant rate
represented by the straight line.

• However in reality the temperature drop

is greater across the first row of the
evaporator so the actual temperature
drop curve is as shown by the curved
dotted line, with the mid point of the
curved line representing the actual mean
temperature as shown in fig 1.
Moist Air - SHR (Sensible Heat Ratio) Factor
• The SHR-factor is a measure of the
amount of energy used in
dehumidification compared to the
amount of energy used for the change
of air temperature:
A SHR-factor close to 1 is the best: 0.8 is not unusual.
If water is running from the cooling surface there may
• If SHR = 1 then all of the cooling be two reasons: a very high relative humidity in the
capacity is used for cooling the air. room or a (too) low surface temperature. Unless you
want to dehumidify, it is a bad idea to waste a lot of
• If SHR = 0.8 then 80% of the cooling your cooling energy on condensing water! (Bad
capacity is used for cooling the air and economy) Then comes the $50.000 question: what
can you do about it? If the refrigeration system is in
20% is used for dehumidification.
operation, you have to install a larger air-cooler.
Moist Air - SHR (Sensible Heat Ratio) Factor
• FINAL POINT: Where does the
humidity that is being condensed
on the cooling surface came from?
A part of it most likely comes from
the products stored in the cold
room, and then the customer is in
fact losing product weight and
money. So why is a low SHR-factor a
bad idea? Lose product weight =
loose money Use electricity on
condensing water instead of cooling
air = lose money
Air Infiltration through doors
W = Width of door [m]

H = Height of door [m]

Qs/A = Sensible heat load infiltrated by m2 of area of

door [kW/m²]

SHR = Sensible heat ratio (see below table)

Air Infiltration through doors

Las cortinas
pueden reducir la
infiltración de
aire por puertas
hasta en un 50%
 Air Infiltration through Ventilations

Forced ventilation

Q17 = Forced ventilation load [kWh/d]

V = Air flow [m³/s]

ps = Inner air density, about 1.2 kg/m³

Fresh products (fruits, vegetables) produce carbon dioxide. In
large warehouses, ventilation is necessary to preserve the hu = outside air enthalpy (kJ / kg)
products from this point of view.
In small stores with opening doors, ventilation is sufficient in hs = inside air enthalpy (kJ / kg)
practice to ensure the need for ventilation. Subzero storage
does not require mechanical ventilation, and it should not be
installed at all.
 Total Cooling Load Calculation

• Total cooling load calculation is the sum of all the cooling load calculations that
we have done over the previous pages.
• Note: If there are any specific moisture loads, then you must look into each case

• Safety Factor: We need to take into account the safety factor in calculating the
uncertainties: for example commodity exchanges may be higher than estimated
or the goods could be estimated to be a higher temperature, etc...
Daily Operating Time
Cold rooms +4°C and above with natural defrost
• gravity coils12 – 16 hr/day
• forced draft evaporators14 - 16 hr/day

Cold rooms below +4°C

• electric defrosting14 – 18 hr/day
• hot gas defrosting16 – 20 hr/day

Frozen food storage

• electric defrosting16 – 18 hr/day
• hot gas defrosting18 – 20 hr/day
Cooling Capacity
• Cooling capacity is calculated using the
formula given below by considering the
following factors:

• Heat load of REFRIGERATION is • Ф = Cooling power consumption [kW]

calculates using maximum values,
critical values. • Qtotal = Total cold storage needs [kWh/d]
• The more uncertain factors you have,
the higher the safety factor that should • k = Safety factor (usually 1.1 to 1.3)
be considered.
• The process time is most important and
• tk = Machinery running time [h/d]
must be correctly be applied.
Refrigeration Equipment Selection Process
• After calculating
the total cooling
load, we need to
reconsider the
calculation for the
selection of the
right equipment.
The process flow
for the selection of
equipment is given
below.
Fast Cooling Load Calculation Method
Basis of calculation:
• Insulation k-value of 0.3W/m²K
• Commodity Exchange of 50kg/m²
• Product inlet temperature 20°C
• Ambient temperature +25°C
• Running time 16 hrs/day

Additional power needs:

• Air curtain 1.5kW/m
• Swing doors 0.4kW/each
• Distribution of doors 0.25kW/each
• Un-insulated ground clearance of the floor 10%
• Un-insulated hot holding below 30%
Fast Cooling Load Calculation Method
Basis of calculation:
Insulation k-value of 0.2W/Km²
Commodity Exchange 100kg/m²
Product inlet temperature of -18°C
Ambient temperature +25°C
Running Time 16hrs/day

Additional power needs:

Doors distribution of 0.6kW/each
MBP Application Coverage
Based on the previous formulas,
pre-defined cooling load
calculation for some products are
created in a table shown below.
The capacity tables and running
conditions below give us the
condensing units and controls for
each capacity.
The calculations are only valid for
an average outside ambient
temperature of 16°C.
Internal loads
Internal Load - People

Q10 = Load caused by persons [kWh/d]

n = Number of people (person)

t = Working time [h/d]

Ph =Heat release per person [kW/person]

Internal Load - Lighting
Calculation based on Reactance
Calculation based on Area
Q11 = Heat load-caused from electric lights [kWh/d]
Q11 =Heat load lighting [kWh/d]
Plights = Total lighting load [W]

A = Warehouse floor area [m²]

t = lights ON time [h/d]

Pv = Lighting load [W/m²] f = Adjustment factor

(1.25 with reactance inside the cold room and 1.00 without
t = lights ON time [h/d] reactance)
Internal Load - Electrical Equipment & Fork
Lift Truck Heat Load
There is a lot of equipment that produces heat in
the boning process. There might be elevators,
band saws, meat grinders etc.
In packing rooms there might be vacuum
machines with 10-15kW motors.
The heat load of a forklift truck is usually about 5-
7kW and 2-3kW of stackers.
In electric motors the power input is stamped on
the type plate. This value can be used to evaluate Q12-13 = Unit load [kWh/d]
the heat load. The most difficult value to find is
the operating time. n = Number of devices
There are also exceptions. In sausage processing,
there are cutters powered by electric motors over P = Heat load [kW]
100kW. In stead of water, they use flake ice to
prevent a temperature rise in the raw material. t = Operating time [h/d]
The heat load to room consists mainly of motor
and transmission heat loss.
Equipment-Related Loads

Q14 =Load-induced fan (kWh/d] Q15 = Induced heat load by electrical defrost
[kWh/d]

n = Number of fans (each) E = Defrosting efficiency (0 to 1) and normally 0.3 is

used

Pfan = Fan motor power input [kW]

Ps = Electrical defrost power input [kW]

t = Fan running period [h/d] ts = Time to defrost [h/d]

Product Exchange Load

Q4 = Heat load caused by product exchange [kWh/d]

m = Product exchange [kg/day]

Cp = Specific heat of product [kJ/kgK]

ti = Product inlet temperature [°C]

ts = Product storage temperature [°C]

Difference between Traditional and Enthalpy
methods
• In the graphic it can be seen that the cooling process
is common for both methods. The difference is in
the freezing and cooling after freezing.
• In the complete process "cooling + freezing + cooling
after freezing", both results would look very alike, so
in this case we can use the traditional method.
• On the other hand, when the temperature on entry
is just a few degrees below the "initial freezing
point" or when the final/leaving temperature is also
just a few degrees below the "initial freezing point",
that would be the situation to use the enthalpy
method (if enthalpy data available).
 respiration heat

Q8 = Respiration heat load [kWh/d]

m = Mass of product [kg]

h = Product respiration heat [kJ/kg d]

The quantity of heat produced by vegetable respiration depends upon the

cooling time.
For example, if we have spinach at 25ºC, we can cool to 5 ºC in 1 hour or in
10 hours.
The table given below shows the amount of heat transfer in 1 hour and 10
hours.
So in total, in the 10-hour cooling process, the spinach has produced more
than 4 w/kg, and this is much more than the 0.59 w/kg, which was
produced by cooling it in just one hour.
Product Load - Packing
• Air must be able to get around and in between the
products. Choose the right packing for the products, so
that the heat can get out to the air and be transported to
the evaporator.

• Q9 = Heat load caused by cooling of the packing

• m = Mass of packing [kg]

• Cpemb = Specific heat capacity of the material of the

packing [kJ/kg K]

• t1 = Temperature of the packing on entering the cold room

• t2 = Temperature of the packing on exit.

Transmission load
• Transmission load is the total
heat load calculation through
cold room walls, roof and floor
and also we need to consider
the effect of solar radiation.
Transmission Load Through Walls
• Q = Heat transfer loss through the
walls [kWh/d]
• U = U-value of the structure
[W/mK]
• A = Isolation area [m2]
• ∆T =Temperature difference
between the two sides at the
insulation
• to = Outdoor temperature [°c]
• ti = Internal temperature [°c]
Transmission Load Through Walls
When overall coefficient of heat transmission of wall material (U) is
not known, it can be calculated by the following formula.

U = Overall coefficient of heat transmission

hi = Conductance of the inner surface
ho = Conductance of the outer surface
x = Wall thickness
k = Thermal conductivity of wall material

If the external and internal surface is exposed to air without

movement,

we can use hi and ho = 9.3W/m2K

If the outer surface is exposed to winds of 24km/h, ho = 34W/m2K

Transmission Load Through Roof and Floor
• Transmission Load Through Roof (Q2) • Transmission Load Through Floor (Q3)
• We can use the same formula used to • If there is another media under the floor, use
calculate heat load through walls. the normal calculation and consider the
temperature of the media under the floor.
• If the floor is supported by land (ground and
is not isolated), then we can calculate using
perimeter empirical calculation.

• Q3 = Heat of transmission through the floor

non-isolated [kWh/d]
• L = Width of the cold room [m]
• C = Length of the cold room [m]
• ΔT = Temperature difference between the
walls of the cold room [K]
Transmission Load - Solar influence
• When one of the walls or the ceiling is
exposed to the solar incidence, we must
add to the “ΔT” values listed in the table,
to compensate for the solar effect of
radiation.
• * In the south of equator the line south
will be the north and vice versa.
• * In some regions like the African desert,
these values may change.
• Effect of solar radiation is often taken into
account by adding 3 to 5 K to the outside
air temperature and about 10 K to the
temperature for the walls and ceiling.