Buying Guide – Things To Take Into Consideration When Buying Commercial Refrigerators

With the development of modern technology, the way of food storage has been improved and energy consumption has been reduced more and more. Needless to say, not only for residential usage of refrigeration, it is necessary to buy a commercial refrigerator when you’re running a retail or catering business, it’s one of the most important appliances for grocery stores, restaurants, cafe, snack bars, and hotel kitchens to store their foods and beverages with an optimum temperature.

There are a variety of species of commercial refrigerators when selecting the right one for your store or business, there may be some issues you would consider, such as styles, dimensions, storage capacities, materials, etc. Below are some buying guides for your references.

 

Types Of Commercial Refrigerator

Upright Display Refrigerator

Upright refrigerator with glass doors to display the stored items, and the interior is illuminated with LED lighting to show the items with more clear visibility. A lighting panel on the top for advertisement displays. A glass door fridge is perfect for supermarkets or convenience stores to display beverages, snack foods.

Countertop Display Refrigerator

A countertop display fridge is designed to be positioned on the countertop, it’s for small storage capacity requirements. It has a glass door and LED lighting inside to be used as a showcase to merchandise your drinks and foods. It’s usually used for convenience stores, bars, restaurants, etc.

Bar Refrigerator

Bar refrigerator is a type of drink display fridge to fit on and under the counter in a bar or club, it’s for small capacity need to store beers or drinks, and with a clear glass door and LED illumination inside, it can display the items to customers with crystal-clear visibility to help the store owners to increase impulse sales.

Reach-In Refrigerator

A reach-in fridge or freezer is the best refrigeration equipment for commercial kitchens and other catering businesses with large storage capacity and heavy-duty usages. It’s specially designed for easy access at arm’s length when standing. feature durability and simple use for routine use.

Undercounter Refrigerator

The undercounter refrigerator is perfect to be used for restaurants with small or limited space. It can either be placed under your existing counter or bench or can be used as a stand-alone unit. This type of refrigerator is suitable for refrigerating smaller items.

Door Type & Material

Swing Doors

Swing doors are also known as hinged doors, which can be totally opened to make storing and taking out easier, make sure if you have enough space to operate when the doors are opened.

Sliding Doors

Sliding doors have to be two or more pieces, which can not be totally opened, it’s perfect for the business area where has small or limited space, when the doors are opened, it doesn’t block traffic flows in front of the refrigerator.

Solid Doors

A refrigerator with solid doors can’t display the stored items to your customers, but it has energy efficiency as the doors perform better than glass doors at thermal insulation, and it’s easier to clean than glass.

Glass Doors

Refrigerator with glass doors can allow the customers to see the stored contents when the doors are closed, it’s perfect for item display to catch the eyes of your customers but not as good as a solid door on thermal insulation.

 

Dimension & Storage Capacity

It’s essential to choose the right dimension & capacity when purchasing a commercial refrigerator. There are some options for your choices, include single-section, double-section, triple-section, multi-section.

Single-Section Refrigerators

The range of width is between 20-30 inches, and storage capacity is available from 20 to 30 cubic feet. Most single-section refrigerators come with one door or two doors (swing door or sliding door).

Double-Section Refrigerators

The range of width is between 40-60 inches, and storage capacity is available from 30 to 50 cubic feet. This type of refrigerator usually features dual-temperature available, Most of the double-section come with two doors or four doors (swing door or sliding door).

Triple-Section Refrigerators

The range of width is 70 inches or more, and storage capacity is available from 50 to 70 cubic feet. This type of refrigerator usually features different temperature for each section, Most of triple-section comes with three doors or six doors (swing door or sliding door).

When considering how to select the right refrigerator for your storage requirement, don’t forget to think about how much food you usually need to store. And the location space is also important to consider, where you’re going to position your refrigerator in your business or working area and make sure if there have enough space for placement.

 

Location Of The Refrigerating Unit

Built-In Refrigerating Unit

Most commercial refrigerators have a built-in refrigerating unit, which means the condensing & evaporating units are located in the cabinet, it can be fixed on the top, and the bottom, or even the back or sides of the equipment.

• Top-location is perfect for cool and dry areas, it operates more efficiently due to heat not getting into the cooling area.
• Bottom-location is ideal for applications in some space where is hot, such as kitchen and cooking areas, you can store the foods on the reach-in level, and it’s easier to get access and clean.

Remote Refrigerating Unit

In some refrigeration applications, a remote refrigerating unit is more preferable, especially for grocery stores or kitchens with low ceilings or limited space. With this type of refrigerators in your business area, you can keep the heat and noise that are generated by the refrigerating systems out of the service and working space. But the drawback is that the commercial refrigerator with a remote unit operates less efficiently and consumes more energy, due to that main unit is not able to draw adequate cold air from the refrigerating unit outside.

 

Power Supply & Energy Consumption

Make sure there has electric power necessary available at your store and business area to supply your commercial refrigerator. Install correctly to ensure efficient operation, avoid leakage and other electrical accidents. Ensure the installing position by insulated wall, and put some thermal barriers under the equipment. Select a refrigerator with LED illumination well-insulated construction.

 

Space Of Your Business Area

Ensure there is sufficient space in the area of your business to install the refrigeration equipment. Take the space surrounding your refrigerator into consideration, and make sure there are no obstacles when open the doors, additionally, leave some space enough for good ventilation. Measure hallways and entrance doors to ensure not to affect carrying. Avoid the placement of your refrigerator in overheat or humid areas, and keep it away from moisture-generating and heat-emitting units.