Building a cold room sounds like a job for a restaurant, but you can just as well do it at home or in a small business. Maybe your fridge is permanently too small, or the price of a ready-made cold room puts you off. With a monoblock cooling unit fitted in the wall of a well-insulated space, you create your own cold room, in the size and layout you want. In this article you will learn what you need, which unit fits and what to look out for.
Good to know: XARO sells and delivers the Norcool CoolMaster in the Netherlands and Germany only. We cannot ship it to other countries. Installation by XARO is available in the Netherlands and Germany on request, at an extra cost.
What do you need for your own cold room?
At its core, a cold room is simply a well-insulated space with a cooling unit. The better the space holds the cold, the better the unit performs. You will need:
- A suitable space. For example part of a cellar, a corner of a utility room or a partitioned area in a heated outbuilding.
- Good insulation. Walls, floor and ceiling must be insulated all round, without gaps.
- An insulated door. A normal interior door lets too much cold escape.
- A wall opening. This is the opening the cooling unit fits into.
- A cooling unit. In this article we use the Norcool CoolMaster.
- A power socket. A standard 10 A socket is enough, within reach of the 2.6 m cable.
- A condensate drain. Condensation runs off through a hose, so the hose needs somewhere to go.
The Norcool CoolMaster is a monoblock cooling unit. Everything sits in one housing, so there are no separate parts to connect and no refrigeration engineer is needed. You make an opening in the wall, slide the unit in and fix it with four screws.
The unit uses R290, a natural refrigerant, and is designed for household and similar use. It is mostly bought for wine cellars, but Norcool positions it for both food and wine. That makes it a logical choice for a small cold room with a different purpose too.
Which cooling unit suits your space?
The unit you need depends on the volume of the space in cubic metres: length x width x height = volume in m³. Measure the inside dimensions, so after the insulation is in place. A few examples:
- 1.5 x 1.2 x 2.2 m = 3.96 m³. The CU-350 Eco fits here.
- 2 x 1.5 x 2.2 m = 6.6 m³. That is more than 5 m³, so you need the CU-450 Eco.
- 3 x 2.5 x 2.4 m = 18 m³. This calls for the CU-900 Eco.
| Model | For well-insulated spaces up to | Max. wall thickness | Price (incl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norcool CoolMaster CU-350 Eco | 5 m³ | 33 cm | €2,036 |
| Norcool CoolMaster CU-450 Eco | 10 m³ | 23 cm | €2,239 |
| Norcool CoolMaster CU-900 Eco | 20 m³ | 23 cm | €2,703 |
Keep two things in mind. The m³ figures only apply to a well-insulated space with an insulated door. And the wall the unit goes into must not be thicker than the maximum wall thickness in the table, including insulation. Is your space close to a limit, or are you unsure about the insulation? Get in touch before you order. Choosing the wrong size is hard to fix afterwards.
What can you use a cold room for?
The CoolMaster can be set from 2 to 18 °C and is set to 5 °C by default. It cannot freeze. These are the guideline temperatures:
| Use | Guideline temperature |
|---|---|
| Food storage, vegetables and drinks | 4-6 °C |
| Flowers | 4-7 °C, ideally at 80-90% humidity |
| Storing and ripening cheese | 10-14 °C |
| Wine | 12-14 °C |
Pantry cellar
Do you cook a lot, grow your own vegetables or like to buy in bulk? Then a small cold room at 4-6 °C is ideal. You have room for crates of vegetables, large pans and supplies that do not fit in the fridge. You decide the layout yourself, with shelving made to measure.
Drinks and home bar
For a home bar, a canteen or a party, you mainly want to keep a lot cold at once. In a cold room at 4-6 °C you store whole crates instead of single bottles. That saves a row of fridges and keeps everything in one place.
Cheese
Cheese is stored and ripened at 10-14 °C, a good deal warmer than in a fridge. In your own cold room you lay whole wheels on boards, with room to turn and check them. For smaller quantities, a cheese fridge is often more practical than a whole room.
Wine
Wine is stored at 12-14 °C. This is what the CoolMaster is bought for most often. Everything about temperature, humidity and layout is in our article on wine cellar cooling.
Flowers
Flowers last longest at 4-7 °C and a high humidity of 80-90%. For a small florist, a home-based florist or wedding floristry, a self-built cold room with a CoolMaster can work well. Keep in mind that the unit removes excess moisture. If the air in your space is dry, you will need a separate humidifier.
To be honest: for a large, busy shop, specialists often recommend a split system, because a strong airflow can dry out flowers. If you run a busy shop, get proper advice first.
Not the right choice for everything
If you want to dry-age meat, you need a cabinet built specifically for it, with the right air circulation and humidity control. Take a look at our meat ageing cabinets.
What to look out for when installing
Fitting the unit itself is not complicated. Most problems come from choosing the wrong spot. Go through these points before you start cutting.
The warm side must face a room of 16 to 32 °C
This is the most important point. A cooling unit takes heat out of the cold room and releases it on the other side of the wall. That warm side must face a room where the temperature is between 16 and 32 °C. That means: not in an outside wall and not in an unheated or uninsulated garage or shed. If you build a cold room in a cellar, check that the room next to it stays at 16 °C or more all year round.
Wall thickness and opening size
The maximum wall thickness is 33 cm for the CU-350 Eco and 23 cm for the CU-450 Eco and CU-900 Eco. The wall opening for the CU-350 Eco is 460 x 490 mm. The dimensions for the other models are in the manual. Feel free to ask us for them in advance, so you can prepare the wall properly.
Condensate drain and the 24-hour wait
The unit drains condensation through a hose. Plan in advance where the hose will go, for example a drain nearby. After fitting, wait 24 hours before you plug the unit in. Do not skip this step, even if everything looks ready.
Insulation and humidity
Without good insulation the unit will not reach its capacity. Insulate all round, do not forget the floor, ceiling and door, and seal joints and gaps carefully. The CoolMaster removes excess moisture. For most uses that is a good thing. If you want higher humidity, you will need a separate humidifier.
How to build a cold room, step by step
- 1. Choose the spot. The warm side of the unit must face a room of 16 to 32 °C, so not an outside wall or a cold garage.
- 2. Measure the space. Calculate the volume in m³ and choose the matching cooling unit.
- 3. Insulate all round. Insulate the walls, floor and ceiling and seal all joints.
- 4. Fit an insulated door. Make sure it closes properly.
- 5. Make the wall opening. Follow the size in the manual and check the maximum wall thickness.
- 6. Fit the cooling unit. Slide the unit into the opening and fix it with the four screws.
- 7. Connect the condensate hose. Run the water to a drain.
- 8. Wait 24 hours and switch on. Plug the unit into a 10 A socket and set the temperature you want.
Then fit out the room with shelves, crates or boards. Every unit comes with detailed instructions.
What does it cost to build a cold room?
The cost of a self-built cold room has three parts: the cooling unit, the insulation and the door. The cooling unit is the largest fixed cost. A CoolMaster costs €2,036 (CU-350 Eco), €2,239 (CU-450 Eco) or €2,703 (CU-900 Eco), including VAT.
What you spend on insulation and an insulated door depends on your situation: the size of the space, what is already there and how much you do yourself. Building in an existing cellar or utility room is usually cheaper than setting up a whole new space.
For comparison: if you want to buy a cold room as a private customer, you often end up at a catering wholesaler. A ready-made small cold room there easily costs €4,000 to €5,500, and installation often comes on top. Also check whether a price includes VAT or not. With a CoolMaster, insulation and a door, you build a space you lay out yourself, often for less. You are not tied to standard sizes and you make the most of the space you have.
Need help with your cold room?
Not sure which unit fits, whether your space is suitable or where the warm side is best placed? We are happy to help before you start. Please note that we sell and deliver the CoolMaster in the Netherlands and Germany only. Installation by XARO is available there on request, at an extra cost.
Call us on +31 35 694 5004, email info@xaro.nl or visit our contact page. Feel free to send the dimensions and a few photos of the space, so we can help you faster.
Norcool CoolMaster cooling units at XARO
For well-insulated spaces up to 5, 10 or 20 m³. Delivery in the Netherlands and Germany only.