It’s a problem that many retailers will be all too familiar with – your glass door fridges, the ones that were specifically designed to give customers a clear view of your products, are suddenly impossible to see through.
Fogging on freezer doors is a very common problem, but one that can have a significant impact on your energy consumption, not to mention the experience of your customers. So, what exactly causes your freezer doors to fog up, and more importantly, what can you do to prevent it?
Why do freezer doors fog up?
Freezer doors fog up because of condensation, which is caused by warm, moist air coming into contact with a colder surface. In this case, the glass freezer door is far colder than the air inside your business premises, so when the air meets the glass, the moisture in the air condenses into small water droplets, which creates fog. The warmer it is inside your retail space, the faster the freezer doors will fog up and the denser it will appear.
Supermarkets and grocery stores in particular are often humid environments as there’s a constant flow of customers coming in and out of the shop, as well as refrigerated products that release moisture into the air – and the more moisture in the air, the more condensation will appear! Changing conditions both inside and outside the shop, such as changes in weather or even the air conditioning can impact the levels of condensation on the glass doors.
As you can probably guess, the condensation on freezer doors becomes a bit of a cycle. Customers open the freezer doors to get out a product, and the warm air rushes in, making it more humid in the freezer. Once they close the door and it cools down in the freezer, condensation forms – so then customers have to open the freezer doors more frequently to look inside, as they can’t see the products through the condensation.
Why is it a problem when freezer doors fog up?
Foggy freezer doors are far more than just a slight irritation to customers, they can have a real impact on a business’s energy efficiency and even profitability.
Every time a customer opens a freezer door, cold air rushes out. The more a customer has to open a freezer door, the harder your refrigeration system has to work, which can significantly drive up energy costs. Some retail freezer doors have electrical trim door heaters to keep the glass clear of fog, but over time these can be expensive, and use a surprising amount of electricity.
As well as losing money through increased energy bills, fogged doors with poor visibility can drive away customers. No matter how eye-catching or aesthetically pleasing your products are, nobody is going to pick them up if they can’t see them! It’s frustrating for customers to keep having to open freezers to search for what they need, and creates a pretty poor shopping experience. Especially if a shopper is pushed for time, they’re far more likely to buy something if they can easily find what they need.
Fogged freezer doors can also be a bit of a liability – you might find that puddles are pooling at the bottom of your freezer, meaning you’re constantly getting your employees to wipe down the doors to avoid any slips and falls.
How to prevent freezer doors from fogging
Thankfully, freezer door fogging is a fixable problem – here are a few things that you can try.
Controlling humidity in store
If your premises is prone to humidity – especially during the warmer months – consider using dehumidifiers to limit the amount of moisture that’s in the air. There is only so much that you can do to reduce humidity, as variables out of your control (such as the weather) will have an impact, but dehumidifiers might help.
Improve air circulation
Another option could be altering the layout of your shop to improve the air circulation and stop the warmer air from lingering around the freezer aisle. For example, if your freezers are close to the entrance, they could be moved to the back of the store where the temperatures are more stable – although we appreciate this isn’t a feasible option for a lot of shops.
Regular cleaning
Freezer doors can be kept more clear and dry by frequent cleaning and wiping, using anti-fog sprays if needed – although this isn’t a long-term strategy, as you might end up spending a huge amount of your time wiping down the doors in between customers!
Anti-fog film
One of the most effective ways to eliminate freezer door fog is by installing anti-fog window film. It is a thin, transparent film that can be applied to glass freezer doors to prevent condensation from forming. Unlike using heated doors, a film with anti-fog properties is a passive energy-saving option that doesn’t require any energy consumption at all.
We offer Clarifoil® Anti-Fog Film, which creates an anti-fog coating on commercial freezer doors to help you save money and energy. In fact, Clarifoil® anti-fog window film has saved businesses over 148,881 metric tons of CO2, which equates to £68 million of savings on energy bills.
It couldn’t be easier to install – we offer professional installation services – and requires little effort to maintain.
Clarifoil® Anti-Fog Film Installation
Clarifoil® Anti-Fog film applied on the inside surface of your freezer doors prevents fogging and maintains glass transparency, so that customers can easily see the merchandise on offer.
We’d be happy to answer any questions you might have about anti-fog window film or our professional installation services – get in touch with the OVAGLAS team.
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