Cold Storage
Cold storage has seen many improvements in technology during the period 1945 to the present day, resulting in better quality and performance of insulation and door design. The older types of insulation tend to be prone to deterioration, resulting in loss of efficiency and increased running costs in maintaining required temperatures. Early stores were generally small and of low height with multi-chambers allowing different products to be stored at different temperatures. In the early 1970s, there was an increase in bulk long-term storage requiring larger enclosures with and relatively few doors. With the increase in demand for fresh, frozen and chill products, there has since been a move towards throughput storage with rapid turnaround of goods, requiring improved access and racking systems. EU regulations now generally require chilled enclosed loading bays.
Stores constructed generally since about 1990 have enclosed loading bays either internal or external to chambers with panel insulation, rapid closing doors with a number of ports and lorry docking facilities. They are designed to suit purpose built static or mobile racking systems. Heights are variable but usually of 10m or more with recent buildings in excess of 12 m and as high as 30 m.
Posted in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning