A walk-in freezer is one of the bigger equipment decisions a food business makes, and a wrong choice costs you every day for the next 15 years. Whether you run a restaurant in Finnieston, a butcher in Shawlands or a wholesale unit in Hillington, the right room depends on your stock, your building and your neighbours. Here is what to work out before you ask for quotes.
The usual mistake is filling whatever corner is free. Start with how much frozen stock you hold at your busiest, usually the week before Christmas or a big event weekend, then add about 20 to 30 per cent for growth and air circulation. A freezer packed to the ceiling cannot move air properly and will struggle to hold temperature.
As a rough guide, a small 1.5m x 1.8m room suits a cafe or takeaway, a 2.4m x 2.4m room suits a busy restaurant or pub kitchen, and anything larger tends to be for butchers, bakeries, caterers and wholesalers. Modular rooms come in set panel sizes and are quicker and cheaper to fit. Bespoke rooms cost more, but they make sense in awkward spaces, which older Glasgow buildings have plenty of.
Many of the city's food businesses sit on the ground floor of a tenement with flats above, or in a basement reached by a narrow stair. Both affect what can be installed and where.
The condensing unit is the noisy, heat-producing part of the system and usually goes outside. In a back court overlooked by bedrooms, a standard unit running through the night will bring complaints to Glasgow City Council's environmental health team. Low-noise units, acoustic housings and careful siting are much cheaper to plan in at the start than to retrofit later. External plant may also need planning permission, and consent is tighter for listed buildings and conservation areas such as the Merchant City and parts of the West End, so check before you order.
Frozen food should be held at minus 18°C or colder, and most rooms are set to run between minus 18°C and minus 22°C. To hold that efficiently, freezer panels should be at least 100mm thick, and 125mm to 150mm is worth paying for in a warm kitchen.
Ask what refrigerant the system uses. Older gases such as R404A are being phased out and are increasingly expensive to top up, so a new system should use a lower-impact alternative such as R448A, R449A or R290. Anyone working on the refrigerant circuit must be F-Gas certified, and it is reasonable to ask to see that certificate.
Prices vary widely with size, access and how far the pipework has to run. As a realistic range, a small modular walk-in freezer supplied and installed often falls between £4,000 and £8,000. Mid-sized and bespoke rooms commonly run from £10,000 to £25,000 or more. Electrical upgrades, acoustic housings and floor work come on top of that, so ask for them to be itemised.
Running costs depend on door openings, the surrounding temperature and your electricity tariff. A small room might use 15 to 30 kWh a day, so the cheapest quote is not always the cheapest freezer. Thicker panels, an efficient compressor and good door discipline can pay back within a few years.
Budget for servicing once or twice a year too. A failed freezer on a Saturday night can cost more in lost stock than several years of maintenance.
The room itself is internal equipment and normally does not need permission, but an external condensing unit may. Check with Glasgow City Council before ordering, particularly if the building is listed, in a conservation area or has flats above.
A straightforward modular room is usually built and commissioned in one to three days. Bespoke rooms, difficult access or electrical upgrades can stretch that to a week or more, and the room needs time to pull down to temperature before you load it.
Rarely with good results. Chiller panels are usually too thin, the floor is often uninsulated and the refrigeration plant is sized for a much higher temperature, so most conversions end up as a near-complete replacement.
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