Commercial Refrigeration Vs Residential Units: What is the difference?

At any given time, your home refrigerator probably has enough food to feed you and your family for about a week. A restaurant refrigerator, on the other hand, must be stocked each day with enough food to keep a dining room full of paying customers happy, with surpluses just in case. That’s why restaurant kitchens need commercial refrigeration units instead of standard residential refrigerator models.

But what is the difference between the two? In addition to the large volume of food that must be stored inside, commercial refrigerators have several advantages that help them meet high performance expectations in a restaurant setting. Whether you’re a homeowner or a business owner, when your refrigerator breaks, you want to hire the right person to fix it, and for a business model, you’ll need a repair technician with specialized training, licensing, and experience. to do the job right.

size and design

It may seem obvious, but commercial refrigerators need to be significantly larger than residential models, which are typically designed to be as stylish and unobtrusive as possible in a home kitchen. Also, while residential refrigerator models often feature a variety of shelves and drawers to separate food, commercial models tend to be utilitarian on the inside: two to four shelves designed for easy access and stacking of food. . A home unit may have an attached freezer, icemaker, and water dispenser, while in commercial kitchens, these are often separate appliances.

cooling power

Commercial refrigeration systems are much more powerful than standard models. This is partly because they are larger and must cool more food at once. Also, in a restaurant setting, there are health department codes related to the temperature at which food should be stored. A commercial refrigerator must keep food at a constant temperature so that all food coming out of the kitchen is safe for customers to eat. Keep in mind that residential refrigerator models are often more energy efficient than commercial units; To produce consistent cooling in a large space, a commercial refrigerator must run constantly.

Esthetic

Residential refrigerators can come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials. You can choose a colored exterior, a plastic finish, or a shiny metal surface, depending on your kitchen decor. However, with commercial refrigerators, aesthetics aren’t really a consideration. Most commercial units have a stainless steel exterior for easy cleaning. There are also fewer size and shape options, because in a commercial kitchen, form matters less than function.

Repair Considerations

Because of these differences between residential and commercial refrigerators, not all refrigerator repair technicians will handle home and business calls. In general, it’s always a good idea to make sure the appliance repair professional you hire has experience or training to work on your specific unit, and this is even more vital in a commercial setting. Delayed or improper refrigerator repairs in a restaurant kitchen can put you out of business or make customers sick, resulting in lost revenue and possible fines from the health department. If you have a commercial refrigeration unit that isn’t doing its job, don’t trust the health of your appliance to an unqualified technician. Call someone experienced in commercial appliance repair.