Apart from refrigerators, I cannot quickly think of a product that is at all times working. Save for moments when maintenance is required or when one feels strongly that there is not much to be kept under refrigeration, most refrigerators would be on power and working from the day it leaves the showroom. For commercial refrigerators, the demand for a constantly working machine is even greater. Most times, such a refrigerator would be carrying with it so much food staffs or medicines such that a few hours of being switched off may result in business loss. The walk-in cooler is another type of refrigerator that would often require to be kept on at all times.

The immediate victim of the 24 hours by 365 day work schedule is the cost of power and wear & tear. These are often very high for commercial refrigerators because of the sheer size that they are. The surface to volume ratio is often determinant of how much power a refrigerator is going to consume. In fact, experts in refrigeration services warn that the more a refrigerator is exposed to open doors, the greater would be the power demand. This simply means that the other large sized commercial refrigerator, the walk-in cooler, is even more likely to consume too much electricity. This is of course not good news for business.

There are several ways you can reduce the consumption of power and keep commercial refrigerators with limited maintenance costs.

• Keep the commercial refrigerators in an open space to allow air circulation
• Arrange whatever is being kept in the fridge in a manner that maximizes on minimal power supply. Because the cold currents flow from the bottom to the top of the refrigerators, keep what demands too much cold at the bottom and move them higher after some time. Never bring to the refrigerator or cooler what is steaming hot.