Buyer planning workflow
Cold Room Design Calculator: Size, Calculate & Build a Refrigeration RFQ
A free three-step workflow for commercial cold-chain buyers: size your cold room, estimate the refrigeration duty, then build a supplier-ready refrigeration RFQ using the same template and case study used by ColdMatch projects.
How do you design a cold room and build a refrigeration RFQ?
- Size the room from peak stored quantity and pallet positions, then add clear height after evaporator and structure allowances.
- Calculate the cooling load from transmission, product pull-down, infiltration and internal gains, with optimistic / base / pessimistic scenarios.
- Build the RFQ around that duty: project ID, design basis, scope, exclusions, commercial terms and required bid documents.
Use the free calculators and templates below. No email is required to run the tools or download the planning briefs.
1. Size the cold room
Enter dimensions, product, temperature and throughput to get floor area, volume, pallet positions and a first indicative duty.
2. Calculate cooling load
Refine the duty with optimistic / base / pessimistic scenarios using the full cooling-load calculator. The same inputs carry over.
3. Build the RFQ
Use the editable refrigeration RFQ template and the completed cold storage RFQ example to issue a supplier-ready brief.
Download the refrigeration RFQ template and example
The same six-part RFQ structure used in the ColdMatch buyer case studies: editable Markdown template, quotation-comparison CSV, and a completed cold storage RFQ example showing how three proposals were normalised onto one scope.
Cold storage RFQ example and refrigeration RFQ template
This is the structure the buyer in the case study used: a design basis fixed before supplier contact, a named exclusions register and one comparison sheet. Download it, replace the bracketed fields with your project data and issue the same pack to every bidder. No email required.
- Project name: [New chilled store — 600 pallet positions]
- Buyer / end user: [Legal entity name]
- Site address and country: [Street, city, country]
- Project type: [New build / extension / replacement]
- Indicative budget band (USD): [$900,000 – $1,600,000]
- +2 more in the download
- Room dimensions: [40 m x 27.5 m x 9 m clear height] — [1,100] m²
- Target room temperature: [+2 °C], tolerance [±1.5 K]
- Design ambient: [32 °C dry bulb / 55% RH summer]
- Insulation assumption: [120 mm PIR walls, 160 mm roof, insulated floor]
- Product and daily throughput: [dairy, 18 t/day inbound at +8 °C]
- +5 more in the download
- Refrigeration plant, evaporators, condensers, pipework and insulation
- Control system, alarms and temperature monitoring with data logging
- Panels, doors, floor build-up: [included / by others]
- Installation, commissioning and performance test
- Operator training and O&M documentation
- +1 more in the download
- Electrical infeed, transformer and main switchboard: [by buyer / by supplier]
- Civil works, foundations and floor heating: [by buyer / by supplier]
- Racking, dock levellers and internal fit-out: [by buyer / by supplier]
- Condensate and defrost drainage
- Permits, F-gas / ammonia safety documentation and local approvals
- +1 more in the download
- Price breakdown: equipment / installation / commissioning / spares / service
- Currency, validity period and payment milestones
- Delivery lead time and installation programme in weeks
- Modelled annual energy consumption (kWh/year) at stated design conditions
- Local service coverage: nearest engineers and response time
- +2 more in the download
- Heat-load calculation supporting the offered duty
- P&ID / schematic and equipment list with makes and models
- Electrical load schedule (kW and starting current)
- Commissioning and performance-test protocol
- Compliance statement (pressure equipment, refrigerant safety, local codes)
- +1 more in the download
- 1. Fix the design duty before contacting suppliers — Model the cooling load from room size, temperature, insulation, ambient and throughput. Without a written duty each bidder sizes a different plant and the prices cannot be compared.
- 2. Write the scope and the exclusions in the same document — Most price spread comes from scope, not equipment. Name electrical infeed, civils, floor heating, racking, drainage and commissioning explicitly.
- 3. Pre-qualify a short list — Three to six suppliers with references in the same temperature class and application. More bidders rarely improve the outcome.
- 4. Issue one identical pack to everyone — Same annex, same deadline, same response format so proposals arrive in a comparable structure.
- 5. Answer clarifications once, in writing, to all bidders — Keeps the comparison like-for-like and protects the tender from informal side agreements.
- 6. Normalise before comparing — Price missing scope back onto one common baseline, then compare lump sum, annual energy and 10-year cost together.
Templates are planning documents for buyers and consultants. They are not engineering designs, quotations or compliance certification; final duty, refrigerant selection and code compliance must be confirmed by the selected manufacturer and your engineer.
Cold room design by city
Local design factors, calculator presets and RFQ guidance for major cold storage hubs.
Frequently asked questions
How ColdMatch Group works — independent B2B procurement and sourcing platform — ColdMatch Group is an independent B2B procurement and sourcing platform for industrial refrigeration, cold storage and cold-chain projects from USD $250K+, connecting buyers with qualified third-party suppliers, EPC contractors and independent financing providers.