02.27.2018

Getting the Most From Your Commercial Refrigerators

For virtually any business that sells perishable food items, refrigerators play a huge role. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that, from supermarkets to simple corner stores, such businesses would not be able to operate without trustworthy refrigerators. Yet commercial refrigerators can also be a source of woe when it comes to your monthly energy bill.



Fortunately, you have lots of options when it comes to improving the overall efficiency of your business's refrigerators. If you would like to learn more about relatively simple ways to promote more cost-effective refrigeration, read on. This article will discuss three key ways to get more from your commercial refrigerators.

1. Add Doors

For many years, doorless refrigerators were all the rage. The appeal was that customers could more easily reach merchandise, making them more likely to commit to a purchase. While the consumer psychology behind doorless refrigerators remains up for debate, one thing stands clear: such refrigerators waste a lot of energy.



Doorless refrigerators may easy account for more than 10% of a company's overall energy costs. That adds up to quite a lot of money over the course of a year. Consider retrofitting your doorless refrigerators with quality glass doors. This will allow customers to see merchandise just as easy, but without the unnecessary expense on your end.

2. Keep Your Doors in Good Shape

Having doors on your refrigerators will do a lot to improve energy costs. But you can't sit back and expect those doors to perform forever. As time goes on, refrigerator doors tend to develop a number of problems that may allow cold air to leak. This causes the refrigerator to work harder to accomplish its cooling — thus costing you more money.

Gaskets represent one of the most common sources of refrigerator door inefficiency. A gasket is the rubber strip that runs around the perimeter of the door. As times goes on, gaskets may begin to sag away from their housing. They may also degrade or develop cracks that will allow cool air to escape.



Identifying a bad door gasket can be tricky since at first, its effects may be hard to notice. Pay attention to any sudden increases in your energy bill. Likewise, take note of any refrigerators that seem to be running continually. Hire a professional refrigerator technician to perform a detailed inspection of any suspect units.

3. Upgrade to LED Lighting

Most commercial refrigerators utilize either T8 or T12 sized fluorescent lights to illuminate their merchandise. Such lights have been used for so long now that many people fail to consider the other options. Yet innovations in LED lighting now make them a highly attractive alternative. There are several good reasons for this.

The first has to do with the amount of heat emitted by the bulb. While fluorescents give off much less heat than incandescent bulbs, LEDs represent another step forward. A refrigerator lit by LED lights may save you between 20 and 25% when it comes to energy costs associated with heat output. This will decrease the amount of time your refrigerators have to spend running.



LED bulbs also require less electricity to light a refrigerator. An LED light bar may lower electricity costs more than 75% compared to old-fashioned fluorescent systems. Finally, also be aware that LEDs will require replacement much less frequently than fluorescent bulbs. That means less inconvenience and less money spent on replacement bulbs.

Commercial Refrigeration Experts

The world of commercial refrigeration continues to grow and evolve at a steady pace. Staying up to date with regards to current best practices will help to keep your costs as low as possible. For more information, please don't hesitate to call our commercial refrigeration experts at A M Refrigeration.