What is Cold room panel?
A cold room panel is a sandwich panel optimised for a refrigerated box rather than a building envelope. The core is PIR at 40 kg/m³ — the only core with the insulation, water resistance and dimensional stability for continuous sub-zero service — in thicknesses set by the room temperature: 80 mm for +5 to +12 °C processing rooms, 100 mm for chillers at 0 to +5 °C, 120 mm for cold stores at −5 to 0 °C, 150 mm for freezers at −18 to −25 °C, 200 mm for blast freezers and −40 °C stores (or where energy cost is high). The skins are flat (stucco-embossed or plain) 0.50 mm PPGI in food-grade RAL 9010 white, washable and certified for indirect food contact, with stainless 304 skins on request for meat and fish rooms; both faces are the same, since the panel is seen and cleaned from inside. The edges are the difference: cam-lock panels have eccentric hooks cast into the core that pull the panels together with a hex key, giving a tight, demountable joint for rooms assembled and moved (supermarket and restaurant rooms, container units); tongue-and-groove panels with a double PU-foam seal are used for large cold stores built into a structure. Either joint is finished with PVC coving at floor and ceiling, PVC or aluminium corner profiles and silicone, so the room is vapour-tight (the vapour barrier is the outer skin itself) and hygienic. Floor panels take the same core with a 0.6 mm skin plus plywood and anti-slip stainless or resin for forklift rooms; ceilings span 4–6 m on 100–150 mm or hang from the roof structure. Doors — hinged for small rooms, sliding for stores, with heated frames for freezers — pressure-relief valves, light fittings and shelving complete the kit. We build complete rooms to the customer\'s drawing and ship them flat-packed with an assembly drawing.
Grades, standards and tolerances
| Grade / standard | Yield (MPa) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| PIR core, 40 kg/m³, λ 0.022 | — | B-s1,d0; closed cell, no water uptake |
| Food-grade PPGI 9010, 0.50 mm | ≈ 140 | EC 1935/2004 indirect food contact |
| Stainless 304 2B skin, 0.50 mm | ≥ 210 | meat, fish, chemical rooms — on request |
| Floor panel: PIR + 0.6 mm skin + plywood + stainless / resin | — | forklift traffic |
| Cam-lock joints: galvanized steel hooks in PU | — | demountable rooms |
CE-marked to EN 14509; rooms designed per the customer's temperature and load with a thermal-load calculation on request.
Panel thickness by room temperature
| Room temperature | Panel thickness | U-value (W/m²K) | Typical room | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +8 to +12 °C | 60–80 mm | 0.35–0.27 | processing, packing, ripening rooms | often part of a plant envelope |
| +2 to +8 °C | 80–100 mm | 0.27–0.21 | fruit, vegetable, dairy chillers | the most common room |
| −5 to +2 °C | 100–120 mm | 0.21–0.18 | meat, fish chill, pharmacy | |
| −18 to −25 °C | 150 mm | 0.14 | frozen storage, ice cream | heated door frames, PRV |
| −30 to −40 °C | 180–200 mm | 0.12–0.11 | blast freezers, tuna, plasma | heated floor or ventilated void |
| Any, high energy cost | + one step | — | EU / Gulf energy pricing | payback 2–4 years |
Floor insulation under freezers needs a heating mat or ventilated void to stop frost heave; we supply floor panels and the detail.
Joints, doors and accessories
| Item | Options | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Panel joint | cam-lock (hex key) / tongue-and-groove + PU seal | cam-lock for demountable and small rooms; T&G for large stores |
| Corner | cam-lock corner panel / aluminium or PVC corner profile | |
| Coving | PVC or aluminium, 50–80 mm radius | hygienic floor–wall and wall–ceiling |
| Hinged door | 800–1 200 × 2 000 mm, 80–150 mm leaf, heated frame for freezers | with inside release |
| Sliding door | 1 200–3 000 × 2 000–3 500 mm, manual or automatic | forklift rooms |
| Floor panel | PIR + plywood + stainless / anti-slip resin | or insulated slab |
| Pressure-relief valve | heated | mandatory below 0 °C |
| Ceiling suspension | hangers and rails for spans > 6 m | |
| Sealing kit | silicone, PU foam, PVC strips |
Skins, coatings and colours
| Skin | Thickness | Zinc / paint | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| PPGI PE 25 µm | 0.40 / 0.50 / 0.60 mm | Z100–Z140, RAL 9002 / 9010 / 3009 / 7016 … | outer and inner face standard |
| PPGI SMP / PVDF | 0.50 / 0.60 mm | Z140–Z275 | coastal, Gulf, colour warranty |
| Galvanized | 0.40 / 0.50 mm | Z140–Z275, unpainted | inner face on a budget |
| Food-grade PE | 0.50 mm | Z140, RAL 9010 | food, cold-store interiors |
| Aluzinc / aluminium | 0.50 / 0.60 mm | — | to order |
Outer skin profiled (micro-rib, lined or 5-rib roof); inner skin micro-ribbed or flat.
Lengths and stock
Cold-room panels 100, 120 and 150 mm in 9010/9010 food-grade with cam-lock or tongue-and-groove edges are produced in 7–12 working days at lengths to 12 m; 80, 200 mm, stainless skins and floor panels in 2–3 weeks; doors 2–4 weeks. Rooms are quoted and shipped as complete kits with drawings.
Assembly and sealing
Set out the floor panels or the insulated slab level; erect wall panels on a PVC base profile, lock cam-locks with the hex key (or press T&G joints onto their foam seals and screw at the top and bottom), fit corner panels, then ceiling panels resting on the wall panels or hung from rails; seal every internal joint with silicone and fit PVC coving; install the door frame (heated below 0 °C), the pressure-relief valve and the evaporator supports (never hang units from the ceiling panel without a spreader plate). Cut panels with a fine-tooth saw and seal cut cores with PU foam and profile. Rooms below 0 °C need a floor heating mat or ventilated void under the slab.
Where it is used
- Chillers and cold stores for fruit, vegetables, dairy and meat
- Freezers and blast freezers for food processing
- Supermarket, restaurant and hotel walk-in rooms
- Pharmaceutical and vaccine stores
- Processing, packing and ripening rooms
- Container and modular refrigerated units
Cold room panel vs wall panel
A standard wall sandwich panel can build a chiller above 0 °C, but its micro-rib faces, thinner core and unsealed joints do not hold a freezer; the cold-room panel adds flat food-grade skins, 100–200 mm PIR, cam-lock or double-sealed joints and the door and profile kit. For the core itself see the PIR panel page; for hygienic building envelopes around the rooms, PPGI 9010 and rockwool panels.
Price
Cold-room panels are priced per m² by thickness and joint on the panel list — 100 mm PIR flat-face as the reference, cam-lock adding about 10 %, stainless skins more — and doors, floors and profiles per piece; the bands below are the month\'s indicative FOB Istanbul ranges for 100 and 150 mm. Complete rooms are quoted as a kit from the drawing.
Bands from our weekly export list (September 2026), FOB Istanbul, full-container quantities, excluding freight and certificates. Firm price per project on RFQ within one working day.
Export and packing
Cold-room kits are packed by room: wall, ceiling and floor panels in numbered packs (8–12 per pack, foam separators, PE film both faces, strapped on timber, PE-wrapped), doors crated, profiles and sealing kit boxed, with the assembly drawing in the first pack; a 40' HC takes about 250–350 m² of 100–150 mm panels plus doors and profiles; long panels on flat-racks. HS 7308.90 / 9406 / 8418 (doors with equipment).
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| MOQ | 300 m² per type and thickness |
| Incoterms | FOB Istanbul · CIF / CFR Gulf, Africa · DAP EU, Balkans, Iraq, Caucasus · DAP Aktau |
| Lead time | Stock thicknesses and colours: 5–10 working days; special cores, colours and lengths 2–3 weeks |
| Packing | Panels stacked 8–15 per pack with foam separators, PE film on both faces, strapped on timber bearers, PE-wrapped |
| Container / truck | 40' HC ≈ 400–550 m² of 50 mm panels (volume-limited); 12 m panels on flat-rack or by truck to Iraq / Caucasus |
| Documents | Invoice, packing list, EN 10204 3.1 (skins), CE DoP (EN 14509), fire classification report, certificate of origin; SASO / SONCAP on request |
| Payment | 30% advance, balance against B/L copy; L/C at sight above 100 t |
Certificates
Rooms ship with the CE declaration of performance under EN 14509, the PIR core data sheet, the food-contact declaration for the 9010 skins (EC 1935/2004), the EN 13501-1 fire report (B-s1,d0), door and PRV data sheets and the thermal-load calculation on request; skin coil EN 10204 3.1 certificates included.
How to order
Send the room dimensions (L × W × H), storage temperature, product and turnover (for the thermal load), floor use (forklift / pallet truck / foot), door type and sizes, joint preference (cam-lock / T&G), skins (9010 / stainless) and destination; we return a panel list, door and accessory list, drawing and quotation.
Standards
- EN 14509 — self-supporting double-skin metal-faced insulating panels
- EN 13501-1 fire classification; EN 13165 (PIR/PUR), EN 13162 (mineral wool), EN 13163 (EPS) cores
- EN 10169 / EN 10346 skin steel
- EN 10204 3.1
Grades
Grade data sheets (chemistry, mechanicals, equivalents) are on our reference site: DX51D · S250GD · S280GD
Frequently asked questions
What is a cold room panel?
A PIR-core sandwich panel (80–200 mm, λ 0.022) with flat food-grade skins and cam-lock or double-sealed tongue-and-groove joints, made for the walls, ceilings and floors of chillers, cold stores and freezers from +12 °C to −40 °C.
What thickness of panel for a freezer at −18 °C?
150 mm PIR (U ≈ 0.14 W/m²K); 120 mm for cold stores around 0 °C, 100 mm for chillers at +2 to +8 °C, 200 mm for −40 °C blast freezers.
Cam-lock or tongue-and-groove?
Cam-lock for small, demountable or container rooms (fast assembly with a hex key); tongue-and-groove with PU seals for large cold stores built into a structure — about 10 % cheaper.
Do you supply cold room doors?
Yes — hinged and sliding doors with heated frames for freezers, pressure-relief valves, PVC coving and corner profiles, floor panels and the sealing kit, as a complete room kit with drawings.
Can I use PUR or EPS panels for a cold room?
For chillers above 0 °C EPS and PUR are used on a budget; below 0 °C PIR is the reliable core — better insulation, no water uptake, stable at −40 °C.
What is the price of cold room panels?
Per m² FOB Istanbul by thickness — see the bands above for 100 and 150 mm; complete rooms are quoted from the drawing.