For commercial and industrial refrigeration projects (cold rooms, cold stores, process cooling) — not household fridges, home freezers or appliance repair. Results are planning estimates, not engineering design or safety advice; a qualified refrigeration engineer must confirm sizing before purchase.
Cold Storage System Health Check
Answer the questions below about your existing cold store. The tool returns the infrastructure areas that may warrant professional review, in the order they usually matter — and gives you a structured brief to send to suppliers.
This assessment is a planning aid, not an engineering diagnosis or inspection. It flags areas that may warrant professional review based on your answers. Refrigerant, electrical and pressure-system work must be performed by qualified professionals.
A facility health check scores five areas: temperature stability, energy consumption per m³ per year, door and envelope integrity, refrigeration plant condition, and monitoring/compliance records. Well-run frozen facilities use roughly 55–95 kWh per m³ per year; consumption well above 95 kWh per m³ per year almost always indicates door losses, poor defrost control or fouled condensers.
Frequently asked questions
What energy consumption is normal for a cold store?
Chilled facilities typically use 30–55 kWh per m³ per year and frozen facilities 55–95 kWh per m³ per year. Figures above that range point to recoverable losses.
What are the fastest energy fixes?
Condenser cleaning, defrost schedule optimisation, door seal and air-curtain repair, and lighting upgrades. These usually cost little and cut 8–20% of consumption.
How often should a cold store be audited?
A full health check annually, with monthly review of temperature logs and energy per pallet stored.
Cold storage health check: buyer questions
- What does a cold storage health check cover?
- Temperature stability and excursions, defrost behaviour, door and seal condition, insulation and panel integrity, compressor cycling and run hours, refrigerant charge and leaks, controls and alarms, energy per m³ and maintenance discipline.
- What are the most common causes of temperature excursions?
- Door discipline and failed seals, iced or under-sized evaporators, poor defrost scheduling, refrigerant undercharge, blocked condensers and unstable power. Most are operational or maintenance issues, not plant capacity issues.
- Retrofit or replace?
- Retrofit when the envelope is sound and the plant is under about 12 years old — controls, EC fans, VSDs and door repairs usually pay back fast. Replace when panels are saturated, the refrigerant is being phased out, or capacity no longer matches throughput.
- What happens after the health check?
- The scored result becomes a structured scope of work that ColdMatch routes to refrigeration contractors and integrators, so remediation quotes address the same findings.
Indicative planning figures only — final sizing belongs to the supplier's detailed design. Request comparable supplier quotes · all cold chain tools · common cold chain questions
- How to Write a Cold Storage RFQ
- How to Verify Cold Chain Suppliers
- Cold Storage Project Cost Center
- All Cold Chain Buyer Guides
Submit your project for expert review
Send your requirements. A ColdMatch specialist reviews every request, prepares a brief and introduces qualified suppliers — free for qualified buyers.