Commercial refrigeration systems are indispensable today. An excellent example of the importance of refrigeration is the food industry, since the meat, fishing, dairy, agricultural sectors and a long list of companies need to maintain the cold chain uninterrupted, from the field to the table, to achieve the correct one. food preservation. But what types of commercial refrigeration are there?
Types of commercial cooling: active or passive air cooling
Air cooling is one of the most used methods for cooling and it is important to know that there are two types:
- Passive air cooling system: it is a simple, durable and economical system. They do not incorporate active elements in cooling and are capable of evacuating a large amount of heat with very little expense..
- Active cooling system: this type of system starts from the base of a passive cooling to which an air flow is added that allows the hot air to be evacuated more quickly. Active systems usually include a closed refrigerant gas circuit with compressor, expansion device, condenser and evaporator.
Refrigerant type
If there is one thing that all active refrigeration devices agree on, it is the need to use a refrigerant to cool the interior. One of the refrigerants that has traditionally been used the most is R-404, but its use was prohibited in 2020 by the European F-Gas regulation. And just as it has happened with this, already in the decade of the 90 they stopped using substances such as CFC or HCFC, which damaged the ozone layer.
For this reason it is important to look at the refrigerant used by the different cooling devices and it is necessary to know that at present the sector is betting on compounds that are more respectful with the environment, with a low GWP, such as propane (R- 290), ammonia (R-717) or CO2 (R-744).
Direct or indirect cooling system
When buying a commercial refrigeration device, you can find two types of device depending on the number of heat exchangers they have.
Direct refrigeration systems only have one exchanger and directly cool the air that circulates inside the refrigerator or chamber, while in devices with an indirect system the refrigerant cools an intermediate fluid that, in turn, cools or freezes the element that wants to be preserved.
At present, many of the indirect refrigeration systems use a mixture of water with glycol that is later in charge of cooling the food / beverages / products.
Commercial refrigeration appliances
Among the most common commercial refrigeration appliances are:
- Cold rooms
- Refrigerated containers
- Exhibitors
- Chests
- Ice cube machines
- Beverage chillers
- Freezers
Differences between commercial and industrial refrigeration
Industrial refrigeration and commercial refrigeration are very different from each other because the temperatures they need to handle are very different. In commercial establishments for sale to the public, as well as in restaurants, bars and other places, it is normal for refrigerators to be designed to store perishable products at between -18 and 20ºC. This thermal range is not fortuitous, and is that, for example, fruits must be kept at between +7 and + 10ºC, while ice creams or other frozen products must be stored at temperatures below zero.
For their part, devices for industrial refrigeration can reach -60ºC, which is why they tend to be larger and more powerful.