Cool Room Cost Calculator
A cool room is a refrigeration system with a box around it, and the box is the cheap part. Size the internal volume, set your temperature range and pick the plant type to see where a realistic installed budget lands.
Length by width by height inside the panels. A 3m x 2.4m room at 2.4m high is about 17 cubic metres.
Ask the installer for the heat load calculation, not just a price. A proper calculation covers product load, respiration heat for fruit and vegetables, door openings per hour, lighting, people and panel conduction. Without it, the plant is a guess.
Three phase power changes the economics. Most cool rooms above about 30 cubic metres want three phase, and if the site only has single phase the supply upgrade can be $4,000 to $15,000 depending on distance to the network connection.
💰 Ways to save
- Get the heat load calculated before you shop plant. Oversized refrigeration short cycles, which wears compressors out early and produces humidity swings that ruin produce, while undersized plant runs continuously and never recovers after a busy service. Paying a refrigeration engineer $600 to $1,500 for a proper load calculation routinely saves several thousand in plant and years of running cost.
- Buy the panels new and the plant carefully second hand, never the reverse. Used insulated panel is usually dented, out of square and missing its original cam locks, so it costs more in labour than it saves. A reconditioned condensing unit from a refrigeration wholesaler with a fresh compressor and a twelve month warranty, by contrast, can save $2,000 to $5,000 against new with very little added risk.
- Design the door and the traffic flow first. A cool room door left open by staff is the single largest running cost in most kitchens, and strip curtains at $180 to $400, a self closer at $150 to $350 and a door open alarm at $120 to $280 will cut compressor run time far more than upgrading from 100mm to 150mm panel. Fix the behaviour before you buy thicker walls.
- Locate the condenser somewhere with genuine airflow and shade. A condenser jammed under a hot roof or against a fence sees ambient air 8 to 15 degrees above design, which drops capacity by 15 to 25 per cent and forces you into a bigger, dearer unit. Moving it to a shaded, ventilated position at design stage costs almost nothing and often lets you drop a plant size.
or from $98/week over 5 years , indicative finance
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## What a cool room costs in Australia in 2026
Pricing reviewed: June 2026.
Pricing reviewed June 2026. Indicative Australian costs, not a quote.
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Understanding cool room costs in Australia
What a cool room costs in Australia in 2026
A small commercial chiller of roughly 2m by 2m by 2.4m high (about 10 cubic metres) with 100mm panel and a monoblock unit costs $9,500 to $14,500 supplied and installed. A typical restaurant chiller around 3m by 2.4m (about 17 cubic metres) with a split condensing system lands between $16,000 and $24,000. A combined chiller and freezer suite for a mid sized venue, roughly 30 to 40 cubic metres total, runs $32,000 to $58,000.
Freezers cost meaningfully more than chillers at the same volume, usually 45 to 60 per cent more, because the panel gets thicker, the plant gets larger, the door needs a heated frame and the floor needs insulation or a heater trace. Blast freezers are a different class again, commonly $45,000 to $120,000 for a small production room, because they are sized on rapid product pull down rather than holding temperature.
Where the money actually goes
On a typical installed job the split is roughly 30 to 40 per cent panels and doors, 35 to 45 per cent refrigeration plant and controls, 15 to 20 per cent labour and installation, and 5 to 10 per cent electrical work. That surprises people who assume the insulated box is the expensive part. The panel for a 17 cubic metre chiller might be $5,500 while the plant, controls and commissioning behind it are $9,000.
Electrical is the item most often missed at quote stage. A cool room needs a dedicated circuit, an isolator within sight of the plant, and for anything sizeable a three phase supply. If the site only has single phase, the upgrade is $4,000 to $15,000 depending on the distance to the network connection point and whether the switchboard also needs replacing.
Panels, thickness and the temperature you are holding
Standard EPS core panel at 75mm suits short term chillers in a temperate indoor environment. One hundred millimetre is the volume standard for chillers and gives a sensible margin. Freezers should not go below 150mm, and a well built minus 22 degree room usually gets 200mm PIR core, which both insulates better and carries a better fire rating than EPS.
Every step up in thickness costs roughly 8 to 18 per cent more on the panel package but reduces the heat load, which sometimes lets you drop a plant size and claws part of the cost straight back. The other effect people forget is internal volume: going from 100mm to 200mm panel on a 3m wide room takes 200mm off your usable internal width, which matters when you are fitting standard shelving bays.
Choosing between monoblock, split and remote plant
A monoblock hangs through the wall as a single sealed unit and is the simplest and cheapest option at $2,200 to $4,500 fitted. It suits small chillers up to about 15 cubic metres, but it puts the condenser heat and its noise right where the room is.
A split system separates the evaporator inside from the condensing unit outside and is the default for most commercial rooms at $3,500 to $6,500 for the plant. Remote plant, where the condenser goes on the roof or into a plant room, costs $6,500 to $12,000 plus line set and is what you specify when noise, heat rejection or kitchen space rules out a nearby unit. Dual redundant systems, with two independent circuits so the room survives a failure, add $10,000 to $18,000 and are standard where the product in the room is worth more than the plant.
Compliance, hygiene and food safety
Food businesses have to meet Food Standards Code requirements for temperature control and cleanable surfaces, which in practice means coved corners or a sealed skirting, food grade panel skins, sealed penetrations, and an accurate calibrated temperature display readable without entering the room. Councils will also look for a documented temperature monitoring record, and a simple logging controller at $400 to $1,200 turns that from a clipboard chore into an export.
Safety hardware is not optional. Every room needs an internal safety release on the door, and freezer rooms need a low temperature personnel alarm. Budget $250 to $700 for the release and alarm package, and specify a heated door frame on freezers at $400 to $900 or the door will ice itself shut within a week.
Running costs and payback
A 17 cubic metre chiller in a temperate climate draws roughly 3,500 to 6,000 kilowatt hours a year, which at 2026 commercial tariffs of 28 to 38 cents a kilowatt hour is $1,000 to $2,300 annually. The same volume as a freezer runs 8,000 to 14,000 kilowatt hours, or $2,300 to $5,300. Electronically commutated evaporator fans and a decent controller with proper defrost management typically cut 15 to 25 per cent from those figures for an extra $800 to $2,000 at build, which pays back inside two to four years.
Maintenance is the other ongoing line. A twice yearly service covering condenser cleaning, gas pressure check, defrost verification and door seal inspection costs $350 to $750 a visit. Skipping it is the most common reason a room that should last fifteen years needs a new compressor at year six, and a compressor replacement is $2,500 to $7,000 fitted.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a commercial cool room cost in Australia?
A small 10 cubic metre chiller with 100mm panel and a monoblock unit costs $9,500 to $14,500 installed. A typical restaurant chiller around 17 cubic metres with a split system runs $16,000 to $24,000, and a combined chiller and freezer suite of 30 to 40 cubic metres lands between $32,000 and $58,000.
Why does a freezer room cost more than a chiller of the same size?
Expect 45 to 60 per cent more. The panel steps up from 100mm to 150mm or 200mm, the refrigeration plant is larger for the same volume, the door needs a heated frame at $400 to $900, and the floor needs an insulated panel or an under-slab heater trace to stop the ground freezing and heaving the slab.
What does it cost to run a cool room per year?
A 17 cubic metre chiller uses roughly 3,500 to 6,000 kilowatt hours a year, which is $1,000 to $2,300 at 2026 commercial rates of 28 to 38 cents. The same volume as a freezer uses 8,000 to 14,000 kilowatt hours, or $2,300 to $5,300. Efficient fans and a good defrost controller cut that by 15 to 25 per cent.
Can I install a cool room myself?
You can assemble the panels, but the refrigeration work cannot be done without an ARC refrigerant handling licence and the electrical connection requires a licensed electrician. Self-installing panel typically saves $2,000 to $4,500 in labour, though most suppliers will not warrant plant they did not commission.
How long does a cool room installation take?
Panel assembly for a standard room takes one to two days. Refrigeration installation and commissioning adds another one to three days, and remote plant with a long line set can extend that to a week. Allow four to ten weeks lead time from order for panel manufacture and plant supply.
Do I need three phase power for a cool room?
Small monoblock units up to about 15 cubic metres generally run on single phase. Above roughly 30 cubic metres, and for almost all freezers, three phase is expected. If the site is single phase only, budget $4,000 to $15,000 for the supply upgrade depending on distance to the network connection and switchboard condition.
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