Commonly Asked Refrigeration Questions and FAQs

Many customers are new to cold rooms and refrigeration systems and can find them cumbersome topics that take a fair amount of time to understand. As such, they tend to have a selection of commonly asked questions – that we have collated below.

So, read on to find out everything you need to know about cold room fridge or freezer refrigeration systems, from our experts here at UK Cold Room Spares.

What Is a Refrigerant?

Refrigerant is an essential part of every refrigeration system.

These working fluids can repeatedly change from a liquid to a gas and back again and are highly necessary to create the cold air inside a cold room fridge or walk-in freezer.

Some refrigerants are harmful for the environment, so now a range of less harmful refrigerants are available and their use is highly encouraged.

Are Refrigerants Essential for Cold Room Function?

Put simply, yes. If the refrigerant was not present within the refrigeration system, it wouldn’t be possible to use the refrigeration systems commonly used in the cold room fridge or freezer.

You could look into the use of thermoelectric cooling or vortex tube systems instead, but these aren’t widely used within the industry so could be considered inappropriate for your cold room (depending on the size of your room) or be incredibly expensive.

Where Do Refrigerants Go Inside the Refrigeration System?

The refrigeration system is made up of four distinct sections include the:

• Compressor
• Condenser
• Expansion valve
• Evaporator

As such, the whole refrigeration system is based on a loop, beginning and ending with the compressor and the refrigerant changes from a liquid to a gas and back again on this cycle – which creates the cooling refrigerated air.

Where the refrigerant enters your specific refrigeration system can differ depending on the unit chosen, so we would advise you to check your technical handbook or ask an expert team if you need to know.

Why Do We Need to Consider the Right Refrigerant for Each Cold Room Refrigeration System?

Making the right choice of refrigerant can save your business money as well as helping you to save the environment.

• Saving money – Choosing the wrong refrigerant can mean choosing the most expensive, least efficient refrigerant on the market.
  
  Not only are these refrigerants then working less effectively, leading to increased outgoings, but they can be more expensive than more hardworking, economical counterparts.
  
• Saving the environment – Each refrigerant comes with a number that denotes the possible impact on the environment if used, called their Global Warming Potential, or GWP.
  
  A high GWP can be for one of two reasons, either:
  
  1) It causes direct harm to the Ozone layer, thanks to a high Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)
  
  OR
  
  2) It’s a very potent greenhouse gas (GHG) which creates a greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation and trapping heat – leading to global warming effects, like climate change.
  
  For this reason, it is essential that you seek expert help if you aren’t sure which refrigerant is right for your needs.

Can Anyone Fix Issues With A Refrigeration System?

Some aspects of refrigeration system maintenance and refurbishment can be carried out by a reasonably skilled maintenance team – similar to the one that you might already have on-site.

However, due to the dangerous nature of refrigerant gases and the refrigeration systems a refrigeration experts is often needed, especially to carry out the most technical maintenance or refurbishment tasks.

If you aren’t sure if your team are skilled or trained enough, it’s always better to ask or check with a professional rather than risk it – not only is this very dangerous but it can lead to extremely costly mistakes.

If you’re new to cold rooms and refrigeration , it is well worth doing a little research so you know exactly what your new systems will involve and how they’ll work.

If you have any existing questions or need help with ordering a refrigeration system or a cold room itself, you can call us on  01886 833 381 or email us at spares@mtcss.co.uk. Our experienced and friendly team of experts will help however they can.