The current spell of warm sunny weather brings with it great opportunities for holidays, visits to the beach, and generally enjoying the great outdoors! However, warm weather can have an adverse effect on refrigeration equipment, causing it to work harder to keep things cooler and potentially resulting in breakdown.

Here are a few tips to help keep your refrigeration equipment happy and minimise the potential for breakdown.

1. For self-contained units such as domestic or commercial fridges and freezers, make sure the room temperature is as cool as possible and has good ventilation. Refrigeration systems work by dissipating the heat produced into the ambient air around the unit. If the ambient temperature is too high, the refrigeration system cannot get rid of the heat and it will struggle to keep the inside of the cabinet temperature low.

2. Ensure the workings of the unit are not covered, completely boxed in or restricted and that there is enough of a gap for air to flow freely around the unit. The exception to this are built-in domestic fridges and freezers, however there will still be a ventilation grill somewhere around the unit to allow air flow so ensure this isn't blocked and is kept clear of dust and fluff.

3. Ensure the door seals are sealing properly. Poorly fitting seals will result in warm air being drawn into the cabinet. This not only means the refrigeration system has to work harder but particularly in freezers will result in ice building up on the cooling pipework inside.

4. On commercial units, the condensor unit usually consists of a large block of many thin metal plates. This is effectively a heatsink that a fan blows air through to keep it cool. The metal fins can easily become blocked up over time with dust and fluff and result in the condensor becoming too hot. The unit will then struggle to keep down to temperature. Contact a refrigeration engineer who can either brush or blow the condensor out for you with compressed air. Be aware that dust produced by cleaning condensors can trigger fire systems so you should make arrangements to allow for this prior to any work being carried out.

5. Larger refrigeration systems such as cold rooms and air conditioning systems often have a separate indoor and outdoor unit. In these cases, ensure the outdoor unit is not obstructed and that it is serviced regularly by a qualified refrigeration engineer.