THE HIDDEN COSTS OF THE OPEN DOOR
ICED FLOORS – A SLIP AND SKID HAZARD
Moisture that freezes on the floor around a doorway creates a serious slip-and-trip hazard for staff and a traction problem for forklifts and pallet trucks — exactly where loads are being manoeuvred. Ice build-up on door tracks and seals can also jam doors open or closed, and ice on racking and products compromises both safety and stock quality. Under HSE workplace duties, employers must actively control these ice-related risks.
Six interlinked problems define climate control in cold storage. Each one stems from the same source: uncontrolled air exchange at the doorway.
DEFROST CYCLES & ICED EVAPORATORS
When warmer, humid air enters the cold space, water vapour condenses and freezes; on floors, racking, door hardware, and evaporator coils. Frosted coils cannot transfer heat efficiently, causing refrigeration system to run more frequent defrost cycles. Each defrost cycle allows the internal temperature to rise, forcing systems to work harder once the defrost halts. More moisture ingress means more frost, more defrosts, longer compressor run-times and greater mechanical wear.
TEMPERATURE DRIFT & FOOD-SAFETY UK food law requires chilled food to be held at or below 8°C (commonly managed to ≤ 5°C) and frozen food at −18°C or colder, under HACCP-based monitoring. Persistent warm-air infiltration causes gradual temperature drift that can push a store outside its legal range – risking accelerated bacterial growth, reduced shelf life, failed audits and, in the worst case, prosecution under the Food Safety Act 1990.
LOGISTICS/CONTAINMENT TRADE-OFF Cold stores live with a constant tension: stock must move quickly and safely, but every door opening costs containment. Physical barriers like strip curtains help with infiltration but hinder traffic, reduce visibility, snag on pallets and degrade over time – so they are often removed or left damaged, defeating their purpose.
ENERGY LOSS & REFRIGERATION RUNNING COSTS Energy is one of the largest single operating costs in any cold store, and warm-air infiltration drives it upwards relentlessly. Every cubic metre of warm air that enters must be cooled back to setpoint, forcing compressors to run longer and harder. A door left open or repeatedly cycled creates a continuous conveyor of heat into the space. With energy prices volatile, uncontrolled infiltration is a cost that compounds every hour of every trading day.
CONDENSATION, FOG, AND MISTING Where exfiltrating cold air meets warm
humid air, fog forms at the warm side of the opening. Beyond being a visible symptom of energy loss, fog reduces visibility for forklift drivers and pedestrians precisely where traffic is heaviest, and the resulting condensation leaves wet, slippery surfaces around the threshold.
COLD STORAGE| INTRODUCTION
COLD STORAGE| INTRODUCTION
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