ENGINEERING • COLD STORAGE

Cold rooms are thermal systems, but they are also field systems.

This section documents my experience with cold-storage projects, refrigeration installation, insulated enclosures, controls, site coordination, commissioning and user handover. The Panchkhal project below is the first detailed case study.

FEATURED CASE STUDY • COLD CHAIN

Masala Bali Bikash Kendra Cold Room Installation

Araniko Highway, Panchkhal, Kavrepalanchok, Nepal • 2021

COMPANYAastha Engineering Solutions Pvt. Ltd. ROLESite Supervisor + Hands-on Installation Support

Completed cold-room frontage at Masala Bali Bikash Kendra — Completed insulated cold-room frontage with access door and external control panels.

THE PROJECT

I was the site supervisor, but I did not supervise this project from the doorway.

At Masala Bali Bikash Kendra in Panchkhal, I worked alongside a refrigeration technician through a two-day installation of a grid-powered agricultural cold room. My formal role was supervision, but I have always learned engineering best by getting close to the work.

I helped assemble the insulated enclosure, install the floor and door panels, seal panel joints, support refrigeration-system installation, mount the external control system, and prepare the room for handover. The room was intended for potatoes, vegetables, and mixed agricultural produce.

EXTERNAL SIZE8 × 8 × 8 ft

INTERNAL VOLUME512 ft³

OPERATING RANGE2–8°C

INSTALLATION≈ 2 days

TEAM2 people

FROM PANELS TO OPERATION

What I worked on.

Panel Assembly

Worked alongside the technician to position and assemble prefabricated PUF-insulated wall and ceiling panels.

Floor & Door

Helped install the insulated floor system and fit the swing-type cold-room door to complete the thermal enclosure.

Joint Sealing

Applied silicone sealant at panel joints and interfaces to reduce air leakage and preserve the enclosure's thermal integrity.

Refrigeration Support

Supported the technician during installation of the split-type refrigeration system and its indoor and outdoor components.

Control System

Helped mount the external control unit near the entrance for convenient access without unnecessary door opening.

User Handover

Guided users on temperature setting, mobile-based monitoring and control, product storage, and suitable settings for different produce.

External cold-room control panel — External control and electrical panels mounted near the entrance.

Interior evaporator unit — Indoor evaporator mounted high inside the insulated chamber.

FIELD NOTE

Fit-up problem

The drawing said it would fit. The panel disagreed.

During assembly, some prefabricated panels would not seat correctly into their grooves. The available installation dimensions differed slightly from what had been expected, so forcing the panels into place would have compromised the fit.

Working with the technician, we identified the interference, carefully modified the affected panel dimensions, refitted the enclosure, and sealed the corrected joints before continuing.

FIELD CONDITIONS

Working inside the insulation.

The cold room itself was being assembled inside an already enclosed room. As the insulated panels went up, ventilation became limited and the workspace became extremely hot. With only the technician and me on site, we worked through the installation over roughly two days.

It remains one of the projects that taught me the difference between understanding an installation in theory and physically working through alignment, fit, sealing, access, piping, equipment placement, and commissioning constraints.

Interior work during installation — Interior work around the evaporator during installation.

SYSTEM DETAILS

The engineering behind the enclosure.

ENCLOSURE

PUF insulated construction

120 mm wall / ceiling insulation
Approx. 40 ± 2 kg/m³ PUF density
PCGI wall and ceiling laminations
Insulated swing door

REFRIGERATION

Split-type air-cooled system

Hermetically sealed compressor
Approx. 8,000 BTU/hr capacity
2.8 kW connected load
R-404A refrigerant

OPERATION

Agricultural cold storage

Specified operating range: 2–8°C
Grid powered
External control interface
Mobile-based monitoring / control

Outdoor condensing units during refrigeration-system setup.

Outdoor refrigeration units — Refrigeration units, piping, and service access along the exterior wall.

HANDOVER

A cold room is not finished when the compressor starts.

Once the system was operational, my involvement shifted from building the system to making sure the people receiving it could use it.

I guided the users through temperature setting, mobile-based monitoring and control, storage practices, and selecting suitable operating conditions for potatoes, vegetables, and mixed produce.

For me, a refrigeration system is successfully delivered only when the people using it understand what the system is doing and how to operate it correctly.

External control units on cold-room wall

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