Commercial refrigeration is the cold side of a food business: the bottle coolers at the till, the multideck chillers on the floor, the prep fridges in the kitchen and the cold room at the back. It works harder than any home fridge, with doors opening all day and hot rooms to fight. Whether you are fitting out a new shop, adding a freezer for a butchery or looking for someone to keep existing units running, tell us what you need. Commercial refrigeration contractors near you quote directly, free and with no obligation.
What commercial refrigeration covers
Contractors in this field usually supply, install, service and repair some or all of the following:
- Glass-door bottle coolers and display fridges for drinks, dairy, meat and cakes.
- Open-front multidecks and serve-over counters for supermarkets and butcheries.
- Under-counter prep fridges, upright kitchen fridges and blast chillers for restaurants.
- Chest and upright freezers for ice, frozen meat and ice cream.
- Walk-in cold rooms and freezer rooms with remote condensing units.
- Ice makers and water coolers in some cases.
Choosing equipment for the load
Size equipment for your busiest day, not an average one. A bottle cooler that is restocked with warm drinks every hour needs more capacity than one topped up overnight. Self-contained units are simple to install but dump their heat into the shop, which can make a small store uncomfortable in summer. Remote systems put the condensing unit outside, so the shop stays cooler and the units run quieter, but they cost more to install. Ask which refrigerant each unit uses and whether gas and parts are easy to get locally.
Planned maintenance saves stock
Most commercial breakdowns start small. Coils clog with dust and grease, fans wear, door seals tear and drains block. A planned service every few months, depending on the site, catches these before they become a weekend emergency. A typical visit cleans condensers, checks fans and seals, tests the defrost and drain, reads the operating pressures and compares the cabinet temperatures with your logs. Ask contractors to quote a service plan for all your units together.
What drives the cost
For repairs and service visits, cost guides put a commercial call-out at about R650 to R1,200 and labour at about R450 to R750 an hour. New equipment is quoted per unit; see display fridges for typical prices. Installation costs depend on pipe runs, electrical work, where the condensing units go and whether the work happens after hours so you can keep trading. On a fit-out, ask whether the price includes removing and disposing of old units and recovering their gas.
What to include in your request
- What kind of business and how big the site is
- Each unit you need, with sizes if known
- Whether you want new, used or repairs
- Where condensing units could go outside
- Your trading hours for installation planning
Commercial Refrigeration for different clients
- Households: a second-hand bottle cooler or upright freezer for a home business or braai area
- Landlords, guest houses and B&Bs: bar fridges and freezers in guest houses, lodges and self-catering units
- Shops, cafes and supermarkets: bottle coolers, multidecks and freezers in spaza shops, forecourts and supermarkets
- Restaurants, butcheries and caterers: prep fridges, serve-over counters and freezers for restaurants, bakeries and butcheries
- Farms, packhouses and dairies: chillers and freezers for farm stalls, dairies and produce packhouses
- Factories and cold stores: refrigerated storage for distributors, canteens and factory kitchens
- Schools, clinics and public buildings: kitchen refrigeration for school feeding schemes, hospitals and municipal kitchens
- Technicians and repairers: subcontracted installs and parts for refrigeration contractors and shopfitters
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a self-contained and a remote unit?
Should I buy new or used commercial refrigeration?
How do I keep refrigeration running through power cuts?
Can I get several commercial refrigeration quotes at once?
Commercial Refrigeration by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg