The required temperature comes from the product, not from the name “chiller” or “freezer”. Check the label, supplier specification and HACCP plan.
In short: select the temperature first, then choose the panel, floor, door and refrigeration system to maintain it in the real environment.
Frostbox commonly uses:
- 80 or 100 mm panels for positive-temperature rooms;
- 100 or 120 mm panels for freezer rooms.
The colder the room and the warmer its surroundings, the more valuable thicker insulation becomes. Humidity, solar gain, door traffic, floor construction and energy targets can change the selection.
Do not use one blanket food-storage temperature. EU rules specify different limits for some product groups, while many products follow their own labelling and process requirements.
Below-standard freezer temperatures need a specialist design, including door and floor details as well as the refrigeration unit.
Target temperature by application
Set the temperature from the product and the rules that govern it, then design around that figure.
| Application | Typical temperature | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh dairy, produce, beverages | +2 °C to +8 °C | Chilled storage; ≤ 5 °C is best practice, with national variation |
| Fresh meat and fish | 0 °C to +4 °C | Tighter control, higher humidity management |
| Frozen food (retail) | −18 °C to −22 °C | −18 °C is the solid EU frozen benchmark |
| Ice cream / gelato | −22 °C to −25 °C | Hardening and storage |
| Pharmaceutical (vaccines) | +2 °C to +8 °C | Tight tolerance, often ±1 °C, with data logging |
| Blast freezing | −35 °C to −40 °C | Process load, not just storage; needs dedicated capacity |
Temperature to panel thickness
Colder rooms need thicker insulation to hold temperature efficiently. Use this as the starting point, then adjust for the environment.
| Target temperature | Start with | Application |
|---|---|---|
| +2 °C to +8 °C | 80 mm | Cold room — dairy, produce, drinks |
| 0 °C to +4 °C | 100 mm | Meat / fish chiller, low-temperature processing |
| −18 °C to −22 °C | 120 mm | Standard freezer |
| −25 °C and colder | 150 mm (industry guideline — outside the Frostbox range) | Deep freeze, ice cream, blast |
Frostbox standard range: The Frostbox / MTH Algor catalogue is built around 80 mm and 100 mm panels for cold (chill) rooms and 100 mm and 120 mm for freezing rooms. Frostbox freezing rooms are specified for −18 °C to −22 °C; applications below −22 °C (ice-cream hardening, blast freezing) are specialist builds — confirm with the technical team. These cover the overwhelming majority of food-service, retail, and processing applications. Thicker specialist panels exist as generic industry options but are not part of the standard Frostbox product line. For the full breakdown of cores, skins, and R-values, see Panel specifications.
Adjust for a hot environment
If your facility runs hot — an uninsulated warehouse, a busy kitchen, or strong solar gain — add one thickness step beyond the table. As a rule of thumb, where summer ambient exceeds 35 °C, step up roughly 20 mm above these minimums. The extra insulation costs little at purchase and repays itself in lower running cost across the life of the room.
Temperature also drives the door: very cold rooms need a heated frame to stop the seal icing up, and a freezer always needs an insulated floor. Those choices are covered in Sizing for volume and traffic.
Related articles
- Choosing the Right Cold Room: The Five Questions
- Sizing for volume and traffic
- Site constraints and total budget
- Cold room configurations by sector
- Panel specifications
- Using the Frostbox size calculator
Specifications reflect the MTH Algor panel system supplied by Frostbox. For a thickness matched to your product and site — including custom options available on request — contact [email protected].
