The Value of a Custom Refrigeration System

A freezer failure can be extremely costly. For a research lab, it could be the loss of years of research. For a pharmaceutical company, it could be a multi-million-dollar batch of a new drug that is lost. These are worst-case scenarios, but they happen, and consequences can be everything from product recalls to lawsuits, brand damage, and even business closure.

Most individuals perceive cold storage as merely a box that keeps things cold. This perception is shortsighted and ignores the hazards involved. A contemporary cold storage facility is an ecosystem of expert hardware, monitoring technology, and regulatory guidelines.

This guide will walk you through the do's and dont’s of laboratory and industrial cold storage. You'll learn why temperature is just one part of the solution, how a shortage of trained technicians could affect your business, and why planning ahead for your cold storage is a smart business investment. It's not about sample protection—it's about compliance, operational integrity, and the long-term health of your organization.

The first step in creating a safe cold chain is to choose appropriate equipment. The assumption that any freezer will do for the job is a common and costly mistake.

What differentiates a homeowner's unit from a professional one is design, capability, and risk management.

There is a temptation to regard a lab freezer as a commodity and buy on cost. But the differences between a household freezer and one of laboratory design are major in both safety and long-term cost. Temperature stability and precision are significantly different between the two. Household freezers and refrigerators use simple thermostats that may allow wide variations in temperatures. Laboratory versions use microprocessor temperature controllers and several probes to achieve precise and stable temperature throughout the entire system. This stability is important, because slight temperature variations can ruin sensitive samples.

Stress performance is also an aspect to be considered. A lab or clinical setting is an area of high activity with frequent opening of freezer doors. Each time a door is opened, warm air moves in. Domestic units are not suited for this and recover to target temperature in a longer period. Special purpose units have high-compression compressors and cooling with fast recovery following the opening of doors to ensure contents safety.

Professional units also feature built-in protection. They can usually hold their temperature for several hours following a power outage (as long as the door is not opened) and generally feature a backup source of power. Some ultra-low temperature freezers even feature backup liquid nitrogen systems to protect materials during prolonged power outages. These are not found on consumer units.

It might be tempting to use a cheap, non-specialized freezer as a cost-saving option. The initial cost savings are offset by higher operating costs and the risk of product loss. A facility manager might see a cheaper freezer as a cost-saving option, but the high-performance compressors in purpose-built equipment are often more efficient, lowering total operating costs. At the same time, inadequate temperature control in lower-priced units can create temperature variations that stress the high-value hardware—like research material, pharmaceuticals, or blood supplies—the freezer was meant to keep in good condition.

These are just a few of the reasons why purchasing a "cheap" unit typically ends up costing much more in the long run. Ultra low temp refrigeration systems built for a specific purpose are a risk management decision that protects an organization's assets and can reduce long-term expenses.