Cold room installation for commercial premises

A commercial cold room installation is a walk-in, insulated room with its own refrigeration system, built to hold stock at a set temperature: around 0 to +4 °C for chilled food and down to -40 °C for frozen goods. Alaska Cold designs, supplies, installs and maintains walk-in cold rooms for restaurants, shops, butchers, bakeries, warehouses and food producers across London and the UK, from compact kitchen rooms of around 10 m² to cold stores of 100 m² and more, usually installed on site in a few days to a week.

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  • 25+ years’ experience
  • 24/7 emergency call-outs
  • UK-wide coverage
  • 4.9 Google rating
Inside a newly built cold room with a twin-fan evaporator, white insulated panels and a hinged door

Who a commercial cold room is for

Any business that holds more chilled or frozen stock than upright fridges can take sensibly. Our cold room installers work most often for:

What is included in a cold room installation

A written quotation from Alaska Cold covers the whole job, not just the panels:

  • A free site survey: we measure the space, check access, the floor and the electrical supply, and agree what you need to store and at what temperature.
  • Design and a written quotation with the room size, panel specification, door, refrigeration unit and running temperature set out in plain English.
  • Insulated wall, ceiling and, where needed, floor panels, cut to size and assembled on site.
  • The door: hinged, sliding or automatic, with an internal safety release so nobody can be shut in.
  • The refrigeration system: a monoblock unit for smaller rooms, or a split system with a separate condensing unit and evaporator for larger rooms, sized for your room and products.
  • Digital controller and thermometer, internal lighting, a door heater on freezer rooms, and shelving if you want it.
  • Commissioning, a temperature pull-down test and handover, so your team knows how to run the room from day one.
  • Aftercare: maintenance contracts and a 24/7 repair line for the life of the room.

Walk-in cold rooms and custom cold rooms

Most rooms we install are modular: insulated panels that lock together, so a room can be built to the millimetre around pillars, pipework and awkward corners, and taken down and rebuilt if you move premises. Standard chilled rooms run at 0 to +4 °C. Freezer rooms run at -18 to -22 °C, and blast freezers go lower still. Where you need several rooms, a loading area or pallet racking, see our commercial cold storage page.

Custom cold rooms can include two or more temperature zones behind one door, strip curtains, ramps for trolleys, glass doors for display, and heavy-duty floors for pallet trucks. Tell us what goes in and out of the room each day and we will design around it.

Lead times for cold room installation

You get a response to a quote request within one working hour during business hours, and a free site survey soon after. Once you confirm the order, a standard room is typically installed two to four weeks later, depending on panel and equipment availability, and we agree the date with you when you order. Installation on site takes from a few days for a small chilled room to about a week for a large room with an insulated floor, a split refrigeration system and electrical work. If a room has failed and stock is at risk, call the 24/7 emergency line rather than waiting for a quotation.

Cold room installers for London and the rest of the UK

We are based at 167-169 Great Portland Street in central London and install across Greater London, Essex, Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire, with larger projects anywhere in the UK. See cold room installation in London or the full list of areas we cover.

Why choose Alaska Cold for your cold room

  • One team designs, supplies, installs and maintains the room, so there is no gap between the installer and the people who service it.
  • More than 25 years of commercial refrigeration experience in the team, from single kitchen chillers to cold storage plants.
  • A written, itemised quotation after a free survey. You see the panel specification, the refrigeration unit and the running temperature before you commit.
  • 24/7 emergency call-outs, so a breakdown at 2am on a Saturday still gets answered.
  • Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Google by the businesses we work with.

Not sure what size or temperature you need? Read our cold room cost guide, or request a free quote and we will call you back.

Corridor inside a cold store with yellow double swing doors and two digital temperature controllers on the wall

Cold room specifications

Temperature range Chilled rooms 0 to +4 °C; freezer rooms -18 to -22 °C; blast freezers and low-temperature rooms down to -40 °C
Typical sizes Small rooms 9 to 23 m² (100 to 250 sq ft); large commercial rooms 93 m² (1,000 sq ft) and more
Installation time A few days for a small chilled room, up to about a week for a large room
Panel thickness 80 to 200 mm insulated panels; thicker panels for lower temperatures
Floor options Existing floor for chilled rooms, insulated floor panels, or reinforced floors for trolleys and pallets
Door types Hinged, sliding or automatic, all with an internal safety release
Refrigeration Monoblock units for small rooms; split condensing unit and evaporator for larger rooms
Lead time Typically two to four weeks from order to installation

Every room is designed around your products, space and access, so the figures above are typical rather than fixed.

How it works

Four steps from your first call to a working system.

  1. Site survey

    We visit the site to measure the space and check access, power and the floor, then talk through what you need to store and at what temperature.

  2. Design and quotation

    We design the system around your products, space and budget, and send a written quotation that sets out what is included.

  3. Installation

    We install the panels, doors and refrigeration equipment, then test and commission the system before handing it over.

  4. Handover and maintenance

    We show your team how to use it and offer maintenance contracts to keep it running reliably.

Free quotation

Site survey and written quotation at no charge

No obligation to go ahead.

What affects the price

Every quotation is itemised after a free site survey, so you can see exactly what you are paying for.

  • Internal size and height of the room
  • Running temperature: a freezer room costs more than a chilled room
  • Panel thickness and finish
  • Floor: existing floor, insulated panels or a reinforced floor
  • Door type, size and number of doors
  • Refrigeration unit: monoblock or split system, and its capacity
  • Shelving, lighting, strip curtains and temperature monitoring
  • Site access, electrical supply and any building work
Read the cold room cost guide

What will it cost?

Answer five quick questions and see a budget range for your cold room in about 60 seconds. No contact details needed, and every figure is subject to a free site survey.

Get a budget estimateNot sure of the size? Work it out

Not sure what you need?

Tell us about the space and what you store. We will recommend a set-up and send a written quotation.

Call +44 7879 685742

Industries we work with

Each sector stores different products at different temperatures. See what we install for yours.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to install a cold room?

The price depends on the size of the room, the running temperature, the panels, the floor, the door and the refrigeration unit, plus site access and electrical work. A small chilled room for a kitchen costs far less than a walk-in freezer with a reinforced floor for a warehouse. We give a written, itemised quotation after a free site survey. Our cold room cost guide explains each factor in detail.

How long does a cold room installation take?

Installation on site usually takes a few days for a small chilled room and up to about a week for a large room with an insulated floor, a split refrigeration system and electrical work. Before that, panels and equipment typically take two to four weeks to arrive once the order is confirmed. We agree the programme with you at the survey, so your stock is never left without cold storage.

What size cold room do I need?

Measure what you store at your busiest time, not an average week, and allow for growth. Small businesses usually need 9 to 23 m² (100 to 250 sq ft) of floor space, while supermarkets, wholesalers and food producers often need 93 m² (1,000 sq ft) or more. Shelving and trolley access take up floor area too. We measure your space and your stock at the free survey and recommend a size that works for the way you trade.

What is the difference between a cold room and a walk-in fridge?

In practice they are the same thing. A walk-in fridge, walk-in chiller or cool room is a cold room that runs above freezing, usually at 0 to +4 °C. The term cold room also covers freezer rooms at -18 to -22 °C and blast freezers that go lower still. Whatever you call it, the room is built from insulated panels, has its own refrigeration unit and a door you can walk through with a trolley.

Which chiller or condensing unit does a cold room need?

The unit is sized to the room's volume, its running temperature, how often the door opens, what goes in warm and the ambient temperature where the condenser sits. Small chilled rooms usually take a monoblock unit that sits in the wall or ceiling. Larger rooms and freezer rooms use a split system, with a condensing unit outside and an evaporator inside. We size and specify the unit for you; our guide to chiller and condensing units explains the options.

Can you supply cold room panels or a modular cold room?

Yes. The rooms we install are modular: insulated panels with a lock-together joint, cut to size, so the room fits your space exactly and can be taken down and rebuilt if you move. We supply and install complete rooms, including the door and the refrigeration unit. If you only need replacement panels or a new door for an existing room, ask us and we will quote for that too.

Which regulations does a cold room have to meet?

Food businesses in England must keep chilled food at 8 °C or below by law, and most cold rooms run at 0 to +5 °C to stay well inside that. Frozen food is held at -18 °C or colder. Refrigerant must be handled by F-Gas certified engineers, the door needs an internal release so nobody can be shut in, and electrical work must meet the Wiring Regulations. A room inside your existing premises does not normally need planning permission; an external unit or plant room might, and we will tell you at the survey.

What temperature should a cold room run at?

It depends on what you store. Fresh meat and fish keep best at 0 to +2 °C, dairy and general chilled food at +1 to +4 °C, and many fruits and vegetables at +8 to +12 °C. Freezer rooms run at -18 to -22 °C, blast freezers at -30 to -40 °C to freeze product quickly, and pharmaceutical rooms at +2 to +8 °C with a temperature record. We set the controller for your products and show your team how to check it.

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