A populous country like India has a high demand for fresh goods to satisfy consumers’ needs. However, the concentration of the population in urban areas created a challenge for logistics to transport these fresh goods from farms or warehouses where fresh goods are stored.
Additionally, India’s vast landscape with different climates made delivering these temperature-sensitive goods across India a challenge. So, refrigerated truck manufacturers like Sub Zero were introduced to the Indian logistics industry with refrigerated trucks or reefer trucks. These trucks are integrated with refrigeration systems that help keep temperature-sensitive goods secure in India’s varied climates.
However, not all refrigerated transportation businesses require the same refrigerated trucks for transportation. Some might require higher capacity trucks while others require low capacity to deliver in congested urban populated religious. On the other hand, different goods and products require different types of refrigerated trucks during transportation.
So, in this article, we help you choose the right refrigeration capacity truck for the transportation of different products.
Understanding Refrigeration Capacity
Refrigeration capacity means the ability of a refrigeration system to absorb heat from the goods and products and keep them secure in a stable condition. This measurement of the refrigeration capacity is British Thermal Units or BTUs, per hour/kilowatts. Let us now see which factors help you select the right capacity refrigeration truck for your requirements.
Factors Influencing Refrigeration Capacity
From types of goods and cargo to different temperature requirements, these factors are essential for choosing the right capacity refrigeration trucks or reefer trucks for your business.
Type of Cargo
Firstly, you must determine the type of cargo you are going to transport using the reefer trucks. Whether it is temperature-sensitive goods like frozen meats and milk products or fresh goods like vegetables and milk, these goods require different temperatures to retain their highest quality.
Ambient Temperature
Secondly, understanding the capacity of refrigeration units against extreme temperature fluctuations is essential. Refrigeration units are designed to create a stable condition inside trucks to protect sensitive goods against extreme temperature changes. So, the higher the refrigeration units you use the more likely your reefer trucks can transport perishable goods in hot and humid climates.
Insulation Quality
Thirdly, insulation is essential for refrigerated trucks when it comes to protecting temperature-sensitive goods during transportation. Refrigerated truck manufacturers like Sub Zero use polyurethane foam (PUF) to create an insulation layer in between pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) sheets to create additional insulation for the refrigerated truck containers.
This protection layer helps goods avoid hot and humid external environments and stay cool in the refrigerated container. So, during transportation, these goods can stay safe and retain their highest quality.
Load Size and Volume
Fourth, you must determine the capacity of your cargo load and its volume so you can choose the right size of reefer trucks to carry them. With a large load of goods, you require refrigerated trucks that can deliver large quantities at once. However, when it comes to delivering in the cities these large container trucks can face difficulty due to a lack of space on the roads.
Therefore, refrigerated truck manufacturers built smaller capacity refrigerated trucks called reefers or insulated vans for small quantities of cold goods deliveries. These vans can deliver in congested areas efficiently. So, the vehicle you choose falls on your specific requirements.
Door Openings and Frequency
Fifth, when it comes to large-capacity refrigerated trucks, refrigerated truck manufacturers design them specifically for efficient loading and unloading. These large trucks mostly deliver from farms or manufacturers to cold storage warehouses or supermarkets with minimum door opening frequency only at the designated location. So, doors are opened limitedly, and changes of air leaking decreased as well in well-built, airtight containers.
However, lower-capacity reefer trucks’ frequency of loading and unloading increases immensely because of the continuous delivery to the different retail stores and supermarkets. So, refrigerated truck manufacturers built these containers airtight keeping in mind continuous door opening frequencies.
Journey Duration
Lastly, when it comes to long-distance travel refrigerated trucks are the best option for you. These trucks are built to withstand extreme temperature fluctuations, corrosion-resistant, durable, and can carry large amounts of goods for longer distances. On the other hand for short-distance deliveries or transportation reefer trucks are the best option. These trucks are compact with efficient cooling systems to secure sensitive goods for short-distance deliveries.
Calculating Refrigeration Capacity
If you want to calculate the refrigeration capacity for your refrigerated trucks you might follow these steps:
- Calculate the Cooling Capacity: First, measure the rate of heat entering the container carrying goods while door opening, loading, and unloading times along with external temperature measurement.
- Add Safety Margins to your Calculations: Second, include a safety margin in your calculation because of sudden climatic changes and occurrences. This helps you stay prepared for unforeseen challenges when it comes to cold goods logistics.
- Convert the Required Capacity: Last, convert the total cooling capacity from BTUs per hour to target refrigeration capacity or kilowatts. So, you can select the right refrigeration capacity for your truck.
Conclusion
So, when you are choosing the right capacity refrigeration truck, try remembering these factors to make the correct choice. However, when it comes to choosing the right refrigeration-capacity truck you might want to calculate the cooling load and your required capacity to find the ultimate refrigeration unit for your reefer trucks. Refrigerated truck manufacturers like Sub Zero can help you in this sector when it comes to picking the right refrigeration capacity for trucks.
