The REAL cost of refrigeration, what re-sellers don’t want you to know…

If you are in the market for commercial display refrigeration units (food, dairy, drinks or perishables fridges), price can vary significantly on what may seem like a comparable product for size, weight and storage. Often overlooked is the actual energy consumption of the unit. Cheap refrigerated cabinets are often very inefficient and can cost business owners thousands of dollars each in electricity charges.

A business owner contacted us about purchasing six “food safe” three door refrigerated merchandisers. Initially the owner was not interested in discussing power consumption, instead focusing on the outright purchase cost which in this case was around $1,000 more each unit ($6,000 in total). The owner purchased the commercial fridges from a well-known brand that claimed that these were "brilliant, energy-saving" cabinets. Three months later we visited them and the owner was complaining about the excessive power bills. Using a standard energy meter we found out the fridges energy consumption was actually 24.96kW/h per day, which is horribly inefficient in today’s market. To make matters worse this owner purchased these units on a five-year finance contract.

See out our comparison below of these fridges and the massive savings to the comparable sized Huxford Pinnacle HPM1350 3-Door cooler (low energy consumption, MEPS rated, food safe, high performance and eco-friendly):

Regrettably this business owner found out the hard way that often “cheaper” refrigeration can actually cost you a lot of money long term. Over the five years: each day he is paying an extra $5.16 per day per fridge (remember he has six); for an initial extra outlay of $6,000 in total he could have saved $50,000 in electricity charges (not to mention the excess pollution created if they went with the Huxford Pinnacle cooler or any of the Low Energy Consumption Range).

Our mission here at Huxford Refrigeration is to educate our customers so they can make the right decisions. It is our opinion that the commercial display merchandising refrigerator and freezer is one of the most critically important assets when it comes to cold food storage and merchandising. Not only for the safety and well-being of your customers but for the continued success of your business.

Huxford Refrigeration recommends regular maintenance from qualified refrigeration mechanics. Commercial display refrigerators and freezers (similar to cars) have moving parts and fail more dramatically and expensively if they have never been serviced. Consult your operation or instruction manual for more information on preventative maintenance, cleaning and cost saving procedures you can perform. For safety always turn off and unplug a refrigerator or freezer if you are cleaning or working on it. Never perform electrical or refrigeration work unless you are qualified to do so.