Whether you're running a restaurant or opening a pop-up store, commercial refrigeration allows you to satisfy your customers while meeting health and safety standards. Like any aspect of your business, the way you use it can have a significant impact on your overheads. With a few operational changes, you can make your commercial refrigeration more cost-effective.
Check the temperature each day
Checking your fridge's temperature at least once a day will alert you to potential problems. It'll also let you know if a human error has resulted in it running at too low of a temperature, which can also ruin your stock. To check the temperature, use a professional thermometer and measure the reading against what the fridge's gauge is telling you. You may also want to consider whether you're setting the temperature too low. Make sure it is cool enough to keep your goods fresh without forcing it to become so cold that you waste money on high energy bills.
Monitor the room temperature each day
If the room your fridge sits in is too warm, the fridge will need to work harder to keep everything cool. Regulating the room temperature can become difficult in environments such as restaurants as you may want to keep the fridge in a hot kitchen for ease of access. To work around this, determine whether you can keep a main fridge in a cooler room and a day-to-day one that's smaller in the kitchen. When the main fridge doesn't need to work as hard, your bills should improve.
Defrost your commercial refrigeration equipment regularly
Most modern refrigerators will have automatic defrosting functions. However, if a seal loses its pressure or someone accidentally leaves the door open, frost can gather and obstruct parts that allow the fridge to cool with minimal effort. Consider fully defrosting it once every six months to reduce the chances of obstructions forming. At the same time, you should also check key components such as coolants and fans.
Clean the condenser once a year
Commercial fridges experience heavy use, which means the condenser may become blocked faster than an everyday fridge. If you know where your condenser is, consider cleaning it once a year. If not, ask a professional who's familiar with the model to do the job for you. When condensers accumulate grime, they're forced to work overtime. In addition to making your equipment less efficient in the short term, this could mean costly repairs later on.
In order to make the most of your commercial refrigeration maintenance efforts, create a schedule. Assign specific staff members to complete each task, and everything should run like clockwork