If you work in an industry where you need to keep things cool, choosing a high-quality cold room door is essential. There are many styles and types of cold room doors available on the market, and finding the door best suited to your facility can be a challenge. However, there are a few qualities you should look for when shopping for a new cold room door. Here’s a short guide for Creative Door Services™.

Industries Requiring Cold Storage Doors

Cold room doors have applications in many industries, including:

• Meat, poultry, and fish processing plants
• Fresh produce suppliers
• Pharmaceutical and healthcare facilities
• Cold storage warehouses
• Grocery distribution
• Food and beverage retailers
• Funeral parlours and morgues

In cold storage and refrigerated warehouse facilities, a high-quality door can save thousands of dollars in energy bills. Read more about the best commercial doors for the food and healthcare industries.

Types Of Cold Room Doors

There are many types of cold room doors, including:

• Horizontal sliding cold room doors
• Vertical sliding room cold room doors
• Hinged cold room doors
• Service doors
• Specialized doors
• Fold-up cold storage doors

You must consider your space requirements before deciding what type of cold door to install. For example, if you need room for pallet trucks and forklifts, you may prefer a sliding door that doesn’t take up much space. Vertical sliding doors are perfect for facilities with narrow widths and ample height. You may need a fold-up door if you have neither height, width, or swing radius for sliding or hinged doors.

What To Consider When Choosing a Cold Room Door

Consider the following factors when choosing a commercial door for your cold storage facility.

Environmental Control

The main task your cold room doors need to do is to keep warm air out of the storage room and keep cold air in. Not only does this minimize energy consumption, but it also prevents product spoilage, which is vital in the food and healthcare industries. There are two ways that a cold room door can lose temperature control:

1. Convection describes the transfer of heat from one area to another through gases or liquids. In freezers or cold rooms, convection happens when warm air from outside the room meets cold air through poorly sealed openings and open doors. Warm air is more humid than cold air, and this moisture turns into ice and first buildup in freezers and wet floors and walls and fog in coolers. The solution? Choose a door with tight seals and fast opening speeds.

2. Conduction is the transfer of heat through the walls and doors themselves due to poor insulation. This can cause condensation on the walls and may require costly heat and blower systems to reduce moisture buildup. Therefore, choose a door with a high R-value to prevent heat transfer and save energy.

Energy Efficiency

Using the door many times throughout the day will lead to high convection heat transfer, and your HVAC system will need to work harder to maintain constant temperatures inside the cold room. Choose a door with fast opening speeds and automatic closing features to ensure the door is open for as little time as possible. Doors with fast opening speeds will also increase the efficiency of the entire plant because it allows employees to move items in and out of the room more quickly.

Safety

Facilities with cold storage can be dangerous places to work and managers need to take every precaution to keep employees safe. Cold room doors are high-traffic areas with a higher likelihood of accidents, so consider a door with the following safety features:

• Audible alarms
• LED light indicators
• Photo eyes
• Safety reversing edges
• Light curtains

Adding safety features creates a safe operation and limits your liability in the event of an accident.

Commercial And Industrial Door Installation, Repair and Maintenance in Western Canada

At Creative Door Services™, we carry a variety of cold room doors that provide unparalleled speed, design, and technology for maximum performance. TNR's ChillFast high-speed freezer door features an insulated vinyl curtain and fast-acting operation to minimize temperature losses in cold rooms, chill rooms, and freezers. Our expert technicians also provide comprehensive installation, repair, and maintenance services.

Contact us today if you need a high-performance commercial door, pedestrian door, or security grille for the healthcare or food industry facility. You can find us in Kelowna, British Columbia; Vancouver, British Columbia; Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; Fort McMurray, Alberta; Regina, Saskatchewan; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.