Plan cold rooms, refrigerated warehouses, food processing facilities and cold chain projects with professional engineering, procurement and financial tools. Built for refrigeration engineers, food manufacturers, logistics companies, cold chain consultants, warehouse developers, EPC contractors and procurement managers.
Volume, floor area and pallet capacity from daily throughput and storage days.
OpenCapex, load and energy use by temperature, industry and capacity.
Open8 questions → capacity estimate, recommended system and pre-filled RFQ.
OpenkW, BTU/hr and tons of refrigeration by room volume, temperature class and climate.
OpenFull breakdown: transmission, product pull-down, infiltration and miscellaneous.
OpenMotor power, COP and displacement for NH₃, CO₂, R-448A/449A and propane.
OpenCapex range for new cold storage by m³, temperature class, region and turnkey scope.
OpenMonthly payment, interest and total cost for project loans, leasing and ECA facilities.
OpenEquipment leasing, ECA-backed loans and trade finance from $100K to $50M.
OpenBrief our sourcing team in 5 steps; matched with vetted suppliers and financing partners.
OpenStructured RFQ opened to the full field of qualified manufacturers — vendor-neutral.
Open8 questions → capacity, system, spec sheet and RFQ-ready brief.
OpenBefore sizing, define daily throughput, storage days, product density, pallet type and clear height. Add a 25–35% margin over net product volume for pallet spacing, aisles, evaporators and future growth. Multi-temperature facilities should be planned zone-by-zone — chilled, frozen and blast rooms have very different load profiles and cannot share a single condensing unit efficiently.
Cooling load has four components: transmission through walls, product pull-down, infiltration through doors, and miscellaneous (lights, fans, people, defrost). Under 30 kW, a condensing unit is usually cheapest. From 30–200 kW, a multi-compressor pack gives redundancy and turn-down. Above 200 kW, industrial NH₃ or CO₂ transcritical / cascade plants become more efficient and lower in refrigerant charge — but demand qualified operators and stricter safety compliance.
Panel U-value drives standing losses. Typical PIR/PUR panels for frozen rooms are 150–200 mm (U ≈ 0.14–0.18 W/m²K); chilled 100–120 mm (U ≈ 0.22–0.27). Door heat gain is often the single largest infiltration source in high-traffic warehouses; air curtains, high-speed doors and vestibules can cut it by 60–80%. Vapor sealing at panel joints, floor slab and roof interfaces prevents ice migration and long-term structural damage.
Pallet density (Euro vs. GMA), racking type (drive-in, push-back, radio-shuttle, ASRS) and door count per 1,000 m² all affect throughput. Under-dimensioned dock capacity is the most common bottleneck: aim for one refrigerated dock per 800–1,200 m³ of frozen storage with fast-turn operations. Model forklift traffic and truck turnaround time alongside static capacity — a warehouse that stores 5,000 pallets but only turns 200/day is over-built.
Variable-speed compressors and EC fan motors typically cut baseline kWh by 15–30%. Floating head pressure, adaptive defrost and set-point optimisation add another 5–15%. Rooftop PV can offset 20–40% of chilled-storage annual load in most sub-tropical climates. F-Gas Regulation, Kigali Amendment and local carbon reporting increasingly favour natural refrigerants (NH₃, CO₂, propane); factor in refrigerant phase-down risk when specifying new plant.
Cold storage CAPEX typically ranges $250–$1,200/m³ turnkey depending on temperature class, region and automation. Financing pathways include equipment leasing (3–7 years), project loans (5–15 years), ECA-backed facilities for cross-border imports, green bonds and blended climate finance for emerging markets. Eligibility depends on borrower balance sheet, off-take contracts and project structure — expect 6–12 weeks for term-sheet on facilities above $2M.
A strong RFQ includes: temperature and humidity setpoints, cooling load with pull-down assumptions, refrigerant preference, panel U-value, floor loading, evaporator/condenser preferences, control system, spare parts window, commissioning scope, warranty terms and training. Opening the RFQ to at least 3–5 qualified manufacturers keeps pricing competitive and technology-agnostic. Avoid single-source specifications unless there is a documented technical reason.
No. All calculators run locally in your browser. No login, no data sent to our servers unless you submit a lead form.
The tools give ±15–25% engineering estimates suitable for feasibility, budgeting and RFQ preparation. Final design requires site-specific load analysis, structural review and refrigerant regulations for your jurisdiction.
If you're at concept stage, start with the Cold Chain Decision Wizard. If you already know your room size, start with the Cooling Load Calculator, then the Compressor Sizing tool and the CAPEX / Project Cost Estimator.
Use your browser's print / save-as-PDF for a clean printable version of any calculator page. For a project brief that can be shared with suppliers, use the RFQ Builder — it produces a structured document our sourcing team distributes to matched suppliers.
No. ColdMatch is a vendor-neutral sourcing and procurement platform. We match your project with qualified international manufacturers, EPC contractors and financing partners.
Yes, but subject to eligibility and lender approval. Financing terms vary by borrower profile, country, project size and structure. Use the Financing Calculator for indicative payment schedules and the Financing page to explore facility types.
Free planning, engineering and procurement tools for cold storage, freezer plants, pharma warehouses and reefer logistics. Multilingual.
Turn your calculator results into a structured brief — free, vendor-neutral, opened to qualified international suppliers and financing partners.
