Refrigeration total cost of ownership calculator
Compare three refrigeration offers on what they actually cost to own: CAPEX, electricity at the stated COP, maintenance, downtime and the replacement cycle across 5 and 10 years.
What the comparison shows
The lowest quoted price is Supplier B at USD 350,000, but Supplier C has the lowest 10-year cost at USD 1,086,935 — a difference of USD 431,636 over the horizon, driven mainly by efficiency, maintenance and replacement timing.
Estimates Only: This calculator is provided for general informational purposes only. Results are approximate and may contain errors, omissions, or outdated information. They do not constitute legal, financial, engineering, tax, technical, or professional advice. Users are solely responsible for independently verifying all calculations, specifications, prices, regulations, and requirements with qualified professionals before making any decisions. By using this calculator, you acknowledge that the website owners, operators, and affiliates accept no responsibility or liability for any loss, damage, or decisions resulting from its use.
Total cost of ownership: buyer questions
- Why can the cheapest refrigeration quote cost more over ten years?
- Because electricity usually dominates. A plant running 6,000 hours a year at 180 kW of refrigeration duty consumes roughly 415,000 kWh at COP 2.6 and 514,000 kWh at COP 2.1 — at USD 0.15/kWh that gap alone is about USD 15,000 a year, or USD 150,000 over a decade. Add a shorter design life and heavier maintenance and a lower sticker price frequently loses.
- What should a refrigeration TCO comparison include?
- Installed CAPEX, annual electricity from the actual duty, running hours, load factor and COP, planned and unplanned maintenance, expected service life and the replacement or major-overhaul cycle inside the horizon, plus a value for downtime. Exclude anything you cannot state consistently for all three offers, or the comparison stops being like-for-like.
- How much electricity does industrial refrigeration consume?
- Electrical input is refrigeration duty divided by COP, multiplied by running hours and load factor. Industrial systems typically run at COP 1.8–3.5 depending on temperature band, refrigerant, condensing strategy and control quality — so identical duty can differ by nearly half in consumption.
- How do I make supplier offers comparable?
- Fix the design basis before quoting: duty, ambient design condition, running hours, refrigerant, redundancy and scope boundaries. Ask every supplier to state COP or absorbed power at the same design point and to price a maintenance contract on the same terms. Without that, the quotes are not comparable and TCO cannot be calculated honestly.
- Does ColdMatch supply or install the equipment?
- No. ColdMatch Group is a supplier-neutral B2B platform that connects project buyers with relevant manufacturers and solution providers. It does not manufacture equipment, act as an engineering contractor or provide financing directly.
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