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Read moreCold room design in Kenya: a practical guide for agribusiness and exporters
Sizing, temperature, insulation and energy choices that decide whether a cold room protects your produce, or quietly eats your margins. Lessons from pack houses and EPZ projects across Kenya.
For avocado, macadamia, flower and fresh-produce exporters in Kenya, the cold room is where profit is protected or lost. A well-engineered store keeps product at a stable temperature and humidity for weeks. A poorly specified one leads to rejected consignments, high power bills and constant breakdowns.
Here is what we look at on every cold room project, from small pack houses to large export-processing-zone stores.
1. Start with the product, not the box
Every crop has its own ideal conditions. Avocados typically store at around 5–7 °C, many leafy vegetables near 0–2 °C, and dried nuts need low humidity rather than very low temperature. We size the system around:
- Product type and throughput: how many tonnes arrive per day, and at what field temperature
- Pull-down time: how quickly the produce must reach storage temperature
- Relative humidity: too low dries produce; too high encourages mould
- Door traffic: frequent loading adds a surprising amount of heat
2. Insulation and panels
Insulated sandwich panels (PU or PIR) form the envelope. Thicker panels cost more up front but reduce running costs for years. Floors need insulation and a vapour barrier, and freezer rooms need floor heating to prevent frost heave. Strip curtains or high-speed doors on busy entrances pay for themselves quickly.
3. Refrigeration plant choices
| Option | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Condensing unit + evaporator | Small to medium rooms | Simple, economical, easy to service |
| Multi-compressor rack | Larger stores, several rooms | Redundancy if one compressor fails |
| Heat-recovery systems | Facilities needing hot water | Reuses rejected heat, cutting energy use |
At Farm Gate EPZ in Mombasa we installed a 1,680 m² macadamia store holding 17–21 °C at 50–60 % RH with heat recovery, combining precise control with lower energy use.
4. Power, backup and monitoring
Grid interruptions are a reality in many parts of Kenya and Africa. We plan for:
- Correctly sized generator or solar-hybrid backup
- Soft starters or inverter compressors to reduce start-up current
- Temperature and humidity monitoring with alarms by SMS, so problems are caught at 2 a.m., not 8 a.m.
5. Maintenance keeps it profitable
Dirty condenser coils, failing door seals and refrigerant leaks quietly raise power consumption. A planned maintenance contract, with quarterly coil cleaning, leak checks and controller calibration, typically costs far less than one lost consignment.
Planning a cold room?
Share your product, volumes and site location and our engineers will recommend a right-sized system with a clear, itemised quote.
