Refrigeration Capacity

Cold Storage — Load Calculation Reference Sheet

Thermal Insulation • Product Load • Air Change • Light • Workers • Respiration • Machine • Heating

1. Thermal Insulation (L1 — Transmission Load)

The heat gain through the walls, ceiling, and floor of the cold storage room:

Q̇ = U · A · ∆T (kW)
The overall heat transfer coefficient U is given by:

1 1
U= =
ΣR 1 ∆x 1
+Σ +
ho k hi
where:  
∆x ∆x1 ∆x
Σ = + ··· + + ···
k k1 k ins

1a. Wall Construction Layers

No Material ∆x (cm)
1 Cement–sand layer 2.5
2 Brick 25
3 Cement–sand layer 2.5
4 Moist. Insulation 0.2
5 Thermal insulation ∆xin
6 Steel net 10 × 10, 1 mm diameter 0.1
7 Cement–sand layer 2.5
8 Paint 0.15

Figure 1: Fig. (8.1): Wall Construction Layers

Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 2

1b. Ceiling Construction Layers

No Material ∆x (cm)
1 Flagstone 2.0
2 Cement–sand layer 3
3 Sand layer 5
4 Moist. Insulation 2.0
5 Reinforced concrete 12
6 Moist. Insulation 2.0
7 Thermal insulation ∆xin
8 Steel net 10 × 10, 1 mm diameter 0.1
9 Cement–sand layer 2.5
10 Paint 0.15

Figure 2: Fig. (8.5): Ceiling Construction Layers

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 3

1c. Ground Construction Layers

No Material ∆x (cm)
1 Flagstone 2.0
2 Cement–sand layer 3
3 Sand layer 5
4 Moist. Insulation 2.0
5 Reinforced concrete 10
6 Moist. Insulation 2.0
7 Thermal insulation ∆xin
8 Moist. Insulation 4.0
9 Concrete 8

Figure 3: Fig. (8.6): Ground Construction Layers

Surface Heat Transfer — Reference Table

Surface U A (m2 ) ∆Tsolar To − TR + ∆Ts Q̇ (W)
N
S
E
W
Ceiling
Floor

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 4

2. Product Load (L2 ) — Overview

The product load depends on the type of product entering the cold storage room:
Case Product Type Description
1 Freezing Fresh product cooled → frozen →
sub-cooled
2 Fresh Fresh product cooled only (no phase
change)
3 Frozen Already frozen product (stored directly)
Mass of Product:
The mass m can be either given directly, or calculated from storage volume and stacking ratio:

∆M = 0.75 , S.R = 0.25

m = 0.75 · ρ · V · S.R

Property Fresh Frozen

ρ 500 kg/m3 650 kg/m3

3. Case 1 : Freezing (Fresh → Frozen)

The product enters fresh, undergoes cooling, phase change (freezing), and sub-cooling. The
product load is:

m
L2 = [Cp1 · ∆T1 + L.H + Cp2 · ∆T2 ] (kJ/s = kW)
τ
where τ is the time in seconds.
Symbol Definition Notes
Cp1 Specific heat of fresh product Before freezing
Cp2 Specific heat of frozen product After freezing
L.H Latent heat of freezing Phase change at Tf
∆T1 T1 − Tf Tstart → Tfreezing
∆T2 Tf − T2 Tfreezing → Troom
T1 Initial product temperature Tstart — given
Tf Freezing point of product From tables or given
T2 Final storage temperature Troom — given
τ Time period In seconds

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 5

Figure 4: Temperature Profile — Freezing Process

4. Case 2 : Fresh Product (Cooling Only)

The product enters fresh and is cooled without any phase change:

m
L2 = · Cp1 · ∆t1 (kW)
τ

where:
∆t1 = t1 − t2 = t1 − tf
Here t1 is the initial product temperature and t2 is the final storage (room) temperature. No latent
heat term since no freezing occurs.

5. Case 3 : Frozen Product

If the product enters already frozen at the storage temperature:

L2 = 0
However, if the incoming frozen product temperature differs from the storage temperature (e.g.
Ti = −20 ◦ C but storage = −25 ◦ C):

m
L2 = · Cpfrozen · (Ti − Tf ) (kW)
τ

Example:
m

L2 = · Cpfrozen · −20 − (−25)
τ |{z} | {z }
Tincoming Tstorage

Note: In fish transport applications, calculations are done at −14 ◦ C with a safety factor
down to −18 ◦ C, because the transport vehicle may stop and the temperature may rise.

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 6

6. Air Change Load (L3 )

ρo · V
L3 = · Np · (ho − hR ) (kW)
24 × 3600

Symbol Definition
ρo Density of outside air = 1/vo
V Volume of storage room (m3 )
Np Number of air changes per day
ho Enthalpy of outside air (kJ/kg)
hR Enthalpy of room air (kJ/kg)
Psychrometric chart readings:
If TR = −18 ◦ C and φR = 85%, read hR from the psychrometric chart at these conditions.
For the internal relative humidity:
IR = ib − Dia-b

Figure 5: Psychrometric Chart — Air Change Load Readings

7. Light Load (L4 )

6
L4 = 0.9 × Afloor × 10−3 × (kW)
24

where Afloor is the floor area of the storage room (m2 ), and the factor 6/24 accounts for the
average daily operating hours of lighting.

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 7

8. Worker Load (L5 )

6
L5 = Nw · qw · × 10−3 (kW)
24

Symbol Definition
Nw Number of workers
qw Heat gain per worker (W)
6/24 Daily working fraction

9. Respiration Load (L6 )

L6 = Mtot · S.R · qres × 10−3 (kW)

Note: This load applies to vegetables and fruits only. It accounts for the metabolic heat
generated by the produce during storage.

10. Machine Load (L7 )

L7 = 0.7 × Power (kW)

This accounts for heat dissipated by the evaporator fan motors inside the cold room.
Assume: Power = 1.5 kW (typical evaporator fan power).

11. Heating Load (L8 )

L8 = 0.005 × AF (kW)

Note: This load applies only when the cold storage is on the ground floor and TR = −18 ◦ C.
A floor heating system is necessary to prevent ground freezing.

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 8

12. Total Room Load (LTOT )

The total room load includes a 10% safety factor:

8
X
LTOT = 1.1 Li (kW)
i=1

This gives the Total Room Load including all contributing components.

13. Refrigeration Capacity (R.C.)

The required refrigeration capacity accounts for the compressor running time (typically 18
hours/day):

24
R.C = Ltot × (kW)
18

Summary of All Loads:

Load Description Formula
L1 Transmission Load (walls, ceiling, floor) U · A · ∆T
L2 Product Load Depends on case ( 1 , 2 , or 3 )
ρo · V
L3 Air Change Load · Np · (ho − hR )
24 × 3600
6
L4 Light Load 0.9 × Afloor × 10−3 ×
24
6 −3
L5 Worker Load Nw · qw · × 10
24
L6 Respiration Load Mtot · S.R · qres × 10−3
L7 Machine Load (evaporator fans) 0.7 × Power
L8 Heating Load (ground floor) 0.005 × AF
P
LTOT Total Room Load 1.1 Li
R.C Refrigeration Capacity Ltot × 24/18

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Worked Example — Fish Freezing Cold Storage (Aswan)
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 9

12 Tons of Fish • Freezing • Cork Board Insulation • Complete Load Calculation

14. Worked Example — Given Data

1- Figure (8.24) represents the plan of a cold store room lies at Aswan. The room is used for
freezing and storing 12 tons of fish received at 22 ◦ C. Calculate the refrigeration capacity of the
unit using R-12 as a refrigerant.

Figure 6: Fig. (8.24): Floor Plan — Fish Cold Store Room (Aswan)

Solution:
Location: Aswan Product: Fish (Freezing) — 12 Tons Ti = 22 ◦ C
Outside Conditions:
Symbol Value Symbol Value
Tdesign 44 ◦ C Twb 28 ◦ C
Tg 23 ◦ C
Inside Conditions:
Symbol Value Symbol Value
TR −18 ◦ C φ 85%
Cpfresh 3.18 kJ/kg·K Cpfrozen 1.72 kJ/kg·K
L.H 235 kJ/kg Tf −2.25 ◦ C
τ 24 hrs

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 10

1 Heat Transfer Load (L1 ):

Insulation material: Cork board, k = 0.041 W/m·K.
To find the insulation thickness ∆xins , use:

To − TR
kins · = 10 W/m2
∆xins

Solving for ∆xins :

0.041 × [44 + 18]
∆xins = = 0.254 m = 254 mm
10
Therefore:
U = 0.144 W/m2 ·K

Surface U A (m2 ) ∆Tsolar To − TR + ∆Ts Q̇ (W)

N 0.144 48 0 62 428.5
S 0.144 48 0 62 428.5
E 0.144 36 0 62 321.4
W 0.144 36 0 62 321.4
Ceiling 0.144 108 8 70 1088.6
Floor 0.144 108 0 62 964.2

∴ Q̇ = 3552.6 W = 3.55 kW −→ L1

15. Worked Example — Remaining Loads & R.C.

2 Product Load (L2 ):
Freezing case — using the full formula:
m
L2 = [Cp1 · ∆T1 + L.H + Cp2 · ∆T2 ]
τ

12 × 103 × 0.25
L2 = [3.18 × 24.25 + 235 + 1.72 × 15.75]
24 × 3600

∴ L2 = 11.78 kW

3 Air Change Load (L3 ):

ρo · V · Np
L3 = (io − iR )
24 × 3600
From the psychrometric chart:

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 11

Property Value
io 90 kJ/kg
iR −30.5 kJ/kg
ρo 1.081 kg/m3
∴ L3 = 2.071 kW

4 Light Load (L4 ):

6
L4 = 0.9 × 108 × 10−3 × = 0.0243 kW
24

5 Worker Load (L5 ):

6 6
L5 = Nw · qw · × 10−3 = 2 × 395 × × 10−3 = 0.1975 kW
24 24

6 Respiration Load (L6 ):

L6 = 0 kW (Fish — not applicable)

7 Machine Load (L7 ):

L7 = 0.7 × 1.5 = 1.05 kW

8 Heating Load (L8 ):

L8 = 0.005 × AF = 0.54 kW

Refrigeration Capacity (R.C.):

R.C = 28.18 kW

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Example (2) — Apples Cold Storage (Shebin El-Kawm)
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 12

5 × 4 × 3.6 m • Apples • Ground Floor • R-134a • R.C. = 22 kW

16. Example (2) — Given Data

Example (2): A cold store room of 5 × 4 × 3.6 m, shown in Fig. (2), is to be designed at Shebin
El-Kawm to store apples. The room lies in the ground floor of a building. The refrigeration
capacity of the required system is calculated and it equal to 22 kW. The unit utilizes R-134a as a
refrigerant. It is required to submit your complete design for the system.

Figure 7: Fig. (2): Floor Plan — Apples Cold Store Room

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
 Practice Questions — Cold Storage Design
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 13

Refrigeration Capacity Calculations

Question 2
2- In an industry of food manufacturing and storing at Alexandria, it is required to design a high
speed freezing room of 3 × 5 × 3 m to freeze 4 tons of Peas from 25 ◦ C to −20 ◦ C in 4 hr. The
room is maintained at −25 ◦ C and 90% R.H. There is no effect of solar radiation on the walls or
ceiling. Calculate the refrigeration capacity of the unit using NH3 as a refrigerant.

Question 3
3- A cold store room of 6 × 8 × 5 m is to be designed, at Shebin El-Kawm, to store 60 tons of
frozen fish. The plan of the room is shown in Fig. (8.25). Calculate the refrigeration capacity of
this room using R-22 as a refrigerant.

Figure 8: Fig. (8.25)

Question 4
4- In an industry of food manufacturing at Cairo, it is required to design a cold store room to chill
4000 kg of juices per day from 40 ◦ C to 5 ◦ C. The room lies in the second floor and it is 6 × 5 × 4 m
inside dimensions. All walls are made of galvanized steel-polyurethane panel of 10cm thickness.
The ceiling and floor are made of 12cm reinforced concrete finished with 2.5cm cement-sand
layer and insulated with the same panel. The solar radiation affects only on the ceiling while the
all walls are not affected. Calculate the refrigeration capacity of the unit.

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 14

Question 5
5- It is required to design a cold store room in a butchery, lies at Cairo, to chill and store 4000 kg
of meats. The room is 4 × 3 × 2.5 m as shown in Fig. (8.26). The front wall and the ceiling are
made of 2cm wood, 5 cm expanded polyurethane and another 2cm wood. There is a door of
1 × 2 m and two windows of 0.5 × 0.5 m in the front wall. The door construction is as the same as
the front wall, while the windows is made of two flat glasses of 6 mm thickness with 5 mm apart.
There is no any effect due to solar radiation. The other walls and floor are common building.
Calculate the refrigeration capacity of this room considering R-134a as a refrigerant.

Figure 9: Fig. (8.26)

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 15
Economic Thickness of Insulation
Optimum Insulation Design • Cost Minimization • Fixed vs. Operating Costs

Economic Thickness — Overview

In cold storage design, determining the optimal insulation thickness involves a trade-off between
the initial investment in insulation materials and the recurring operational energy costs. The
point of minimum total cost is defined as the Economic Thickness of Insulation.

Annual Fixed Cost of Insulation (CI )

The initial cost of the insulation material is directly proportional to its volume. The annual fixed
cost, converted for yearly depreciation, is:

CI = c1 · A · ∆x (LE/year)

Symbol Definition
c1 Cost of insulation material per unit volume
A Total surface area of the wall (m2 )
∆x Thickness of the insulation layer (m)

Annual Operating Cost (CII )

The operational cost depends on the electrical power required to compensate for the heat gain
through the insulated walls.
Compressor Power:
 
Q̇ a
Power = = ·A
COP b + ∆x
where a and b are constants representing thermodynamic parameters and fixed thermal resis-
tances.
Annual Operating Cost:
 
a
CII = c2 · ·A (LE/year)
b + ∆x

Symbol Definition
c2 Cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour
a, b Constants (thermodynamic & fixed resistance)
∆x Insulation thickness (m)

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
Refrigeration Capacity — Cold Storage Load Calculation 16

Optimization for Total Cost (CTot )

The total annual cost is the summation of the fixed and operating costs:
 
a
CTot = CI + CII = A c1 · ∆x + c2 · (LE/year)
b + ∆x

Finding the Optimum Thickness:

Setting the first derivative to zero:
 
∂CTot a · c2
= A c1 − =0
∂∆x (b + ∆x)2
Solving for ∆x yields the Economic Thickness formula:
r
a · c2
∆xopt = −b (m)
c1

Graphical Representation
As shown in the cost–thickness profile:
Curve Behaviour
CI (Insulation cost) Increases linearly with thickness
CII (Operating cost) Decreases hyperbolically as thickness increases
CTot (Total cost) Exhibits a minimum at the Economic Thickness (∆xopt )

Figure 10: Cost vs. Insulation Thickness — Economic Thickness

Key Insight: Below ∆xopt , the energy savings from adding more insulation outweigh the
material cost. Above ∆xopt , the marginal energy savings no longer justify the additional
material expense.

Product Load • Air Change Load • Miscellaneous Loads • Total Room Load • R.C.
— Mostafa Khaled Emara —