Keep Your Commercial Refrigerator Cool This Summer

South Carolina is a dream, with our mild climate and comfortable temperatures most of the year. But when the summer days get extra hot, do you know how to keep your commercial refrigerator cool? Ensuring you don’t spend a fortune on your energy bills and avoiding loss of inventory due to heat, are top priorities. You can use some tips and tricks to prevent both soaring costs and spoiled food. Read on for some recommendations on how to keep your commercial unit cool this summer.

Commercial Refrigeration Maintenance

One way to significantly impact on your refrigerator’s cooling capacity is with annual maintenance before the summer weather kicks in. Your refrigeration system needs regular service that includes cleaning, inspection, and preventative care to run effectively and efficiently. Preventative maintenance ensures it’s running at peak performance to get you through the hot summer months with reduced potential for breakdowns and increased ability to maintain cooling. The checklist should include the following:

• Testing the temperature readings
• Checking the refrigerant levels
• Verifying pressure controls
• Cleaning the coils
• Ensuring fan blades don’t have obstructions.
• Checking the discharge lines
• Inspecting the motor
• Clearing the drain pans
• Lubricating the moving parts
• Calibrating the thermostats

Location, Location, Location

The location of your refrigeration unit can significantly affect how well it maintains cooling, no matter the weather. For example, a unit placed against an exterior wall with insufficient insulation may have more exposure to heat than one located on an interior wall. The same is true of windows, especially south-facing ones. When the sun hits a refrigerator, it will cause the unit to suffer loss of cooling. While convenience is a priority when it comes to the flow of your commercial kitchen, the location of your refrigerator can also impact how well it keeps its cool during warmer weather. Keep that in mind when installing a new unit, during kitchen reorganization or remodeling, and if you’re having issues with it maintaining the right temperature. Being in a cool location within the space, having plenty of circulation around the unit, and ensuring nothing blocks it, including walls, boxes, or other items, will help it maintain the right temperature.

Check the Door Seals and Alignment

Neglecting your refrigerator’s door seals and alignment is a great way to lose cooling, throw away spoiled food, and spend more money on your energy bills. While lots of door opening and closing allows the cool air to escape, so does an improper seal when you close the door or faulty alignment when it’s closed. If there is damage to the door seal or leaks from incomplete closure, you could increase the cost of running your commercial refrigerator by up to 50%. With wear and tear from regular use, it’s critical to have the door seals and alignment inspected and repaired to keep the cool air in and the warm air out so you don’t lose product and increase your costs.

Set the Right Temperature

It can be tempting to set the refrigerator temperature one or two degrees higher to save on energy costs, and given the requirement is 40° or below for commercial units, you might feel like you have that wiggle room. We advise not to make those adjustments, no matter how minor they may seem. Setting the temperature to 38° gives you two crucial degrees as a buffer zone to manage an issue if you have a cooling problem.

Install a Temperature Monitoring System

Monitoring the temperature inside the unit as well as current food temperatures allows for immediate response should the temperature begin to rise. Since bacteria growth can begin anywhere over 40°, you want instant and real-time notification of a compromise in cooling. A remote monitoring system gives insight into your commercial refrigerator status even if you’re not in the same room, building, or even state as your kitchen. You can view it via an app on your phone or computer, so you can always track and adjust the temperature or address any issue as soon as it arises. This is valuable in the hot summer weather to ensure constant and consistent cooling and to make sure your unit is keeping up.

Thoughtful Food Storage

Careful and thoughtful food storage is a simple but effective way to keep your refrigerator cool during the summer. You want to avoid overcrowding of products so cold air can circulate without the equipment having to work harder. Packing items tightly increases the potential for spoilage due to contact, but also won’t allow for exposure to consistent cooling. Pay attention to how you organize and distribute food items within the refrigerator to help with summer and year-round cooling.

There’s nothing worse than spoiled food, including the waste that goes with it, the loss of inventory, the expenses involved, and the cost of replacement. Keeping your commercial refrigerator cool in the hot South Carolina summer is vital. Schedule your commercial refrigerator maintenance and inspection now before any issues arise. Contact the team at Wilson’s Refrigeration and Air today.