Production Space Cooling for the Food & Beverage Industry: a Guide

In this article, we’ll run through some of the main types of cooling food & beverage manufacturers need for their production spaces, as well as key issues to consider when buying or renting equipment.

Cooling Down Food Production Space

It’s highly likely that you’ll be using either air-cooled or water-cooled chillers for cooling down food production space.

Water-cooled chillers are the more efficient option. These use around 30-40% less energy than air-cooled ones and the right unit can chill up to 1000 tons. This means they take up surprisingly little space in order to chill a very large area. They can be connected up to your facility’s existing condenser water system, or you can link them to rental cooling towers, so you may not even need a generator to run them. Plus, they don’t use fans, so they’re very quiet, which is handy for a work environment.

The main drawback is that water-cooled chillers do use a lot of water, which can be a problem if you’re in a hot, dry area in high summer. They also need a little more time to install, and there are various maintenance requirements to consider, although if you are renting chillers from a reputable vendor, they should handle both issues for you.

Air-cooled chillers, on the other hand, are super-speedy to set up, so they’re great to call on if your main cooling system breaks down or you’re hit by a heatwave and can’t wait a few days to get a water-cooled alternative set up. They also don’t use water, which is good for more arid climates. Just bear in mind that air-cooled chillers need a big outdoor space to sit in, are noisy and more expensive to run than water-cooled alternatives.

Whichever type you go for, just make sure it’s robust enough to meet your requirements and cope with surrounding climate factors, is easy to operate and adjust and uses non-CFC, less environmentally damaging refrigerants. Also make sure you’ve rightsized your chillers to your needs and that it can actually meet your temperature specifications.

To spread the cool air evenly around the area, you can use air handlers. Mounting these on racks means you won’t take up valuable production space.

Space Cooling and Comfort Cooling

The temperature outside will change over the course of the year. This can make it tricky to manage the indoor conditions with only your permanent climate control system. Air conditioners play a useful role, but again, this piped-in system may not be powerful enough to deal with dramatic seasonal changes. It may also lack the flexibility you need to cool different parts of the building to different degrees.

If your cooling needs are extensive, you may need to opt for additional cooling towers that are capable of taking on your facility’s heat load. If you opt for a modular system of cooling towers, piping, pumps and power generation, this will allow you to scale up cooling capacity as you need it, without massively increasing your equipment’s physical footprint. Plus, you can combine them with chillers, as explained above.

Industrial Cooling Equipment Hire and Cooling Systems

If you’re bringing in temporary cooling equipment from the outside, make sure you choose a vendor who will carefully consider your individual needs, guide you through the process and design you the ideal solution.

When it comes to industrial cooling equipment hire, a “one size fits all” approach really means a “no one is completely happy” approach, and this certainly isn’t good enough when you’re dealing with sensitive environments or ingredients that may spoil. Working with cooling engineers who take the time to carefully right-size your equipment, and to select the best units and setup for your location, project temperature requirements, will make all the difference. It will ensure greater success and reliability at a lower cost. Plus, if you work with someone that provides all the ducting, cabling, power generation, pumps, and any other auxiliary equipment you need as part of the package, it will remove many of the logistical headaches, too.

Final thoughts

The problem with permanent cooling systems is that the external environmental conditions you’re battling with are transient. Your cooling needs are temporary and will change over the course of the year. Any built-in system you have in place will necessarily be either underused or insufficient for part of the year. For this reason, it often makes far more sense to look at temporary, rental cooling solutions. This allows you to bring in the cooling capacity you need at the times of year that you need it - but keep your costs minimal the rest of the year.

Find out more about our solutions for the food and beverage sector

Be always the first to know by subscribing to our newsletter