Have you ever experienced higher product temperatures in your commercial fridge when your night blinds are down? Do you have unexplained temperature alarms during the night? All products should maintain temperature in your case, especially when using a night blind, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case, as some products can fall foul of localised hot spots in your refrigerator, without you even knowing it. In this blog we explain how this is the case and how you can eradicate this problem, ensuring every product remains in premium condition.
What is a night blind?
Before deciding to purchase the best possible night blind for your refrigerated display cabinet, or deciding to upgrade, it is important to know what the job of a refrigeration night blind actually is. Night blinds could be seen as the unsung heroes in making sure your produce is in the best possible condition without de-merchandising every night. When the store is closed and the display cases are not used for sales then the best practice would be to turn them off to save energy and money. However, this would mean that the products would have to be moved to a separate storage area and then replenished the following morning. A more sensible approach is to use a material blind which can be pulled down in front of the cabinet at night, hence the name, to maintain product temperatures and reduce energy consumption of up to 30%.
What are the problems with a standard night blind?
Now for the science part. Standard night blinds are great for keeping products that they’re fully covering cool, however there are some gaps in a standard night blind that create air pressure changes allowing warmer ambient air to enter the case and alter the temperature of products that are towards the top and edges of the blinds. This can have disastrous effects on the products that are in these affected hot spots, as their temperature will rise to a consistently higher level and negatively impact the quality of produce as a result. In some cases, we have seen products in these areas rise in temperature by up to 10°C!
How do I overcome this problem?
In order to keep your products in the best possible condition during these unoccupied hours, it is important to install a display fridge curtain that ensures all products are kept at the same, consistent temperature. A solution to this is the innovative FSx® night-blind, developed by Ryan Jayberg engineers & supplied by Thermasolutions, which has a smart design that makes sure that the pressure remains consistent across the case, reducing and diffusing the ambient air across the whole face of the blind, lowering ingress velocity so it cannot penetrate air curtain.
What other benefits are there to the FSx® night blind?
As well as maintaining a consistent product temperature & quality by installing the FSx® commercial fridge blind, this switch also has other advantages. During laboratory testing we have seen energy savings as much as 15% against a traditional blind, having huge benefits to your business in the long term. This new form of night blind requires no extra staff training to maintain, and no extra parts are needed, as it is just a straight swap!
Contact us
Are you convinced about making the switch to the FSx® innovative night blind? We are happy to take any questions or to provide you with any further information required. We have multiple branches across England and Wales, and all have friendly staff who will be happy to take your call. Visit our contact us page to see which branch is closest to you.
