Doors on an Open Multideck? The IOR Has Written the Manual

The Institute of Refrigeration has published a free technology brief on retrofitting doors to open-fronted display cabinets — giving shopkeepers an independent technical reference on one of retail refrigeration’s most argued-about energy upgrades.

The brief, released in mid-August by the IOR’s Environmental Committee, follows the institute’s TICR project into energy use and greenhouse gas emissions across the transport, industrial and commercial refrigeration sectors. Trade coverage describes it as covering applications, benefits, challenges, installation considerations, maintenance and training, and it is aimed squarely at the people who make these calls: end-users, designers, consultants, installers and service engineers. An IOR Cool Talk webinar follows on 29 October.

Why an open front costs money

The physics is simple enough. An open multideck holds its chill with a curtain of refrigerated air, and some of that cold air inevitably spills into the aisle — which is why the aisle feels cold and why open-fronted cabinets are among the hungriest appliances in a small shop. Doors keep the cold where the stock is. That much nobody disputes.

Why doors aren’t a free win

What the IOR’s framing gets right is that bolting doors onto a cabinet designed to run open changes how the whole machine behaves. Notably, the institute’s announcement leads with practical considerations, not a headline savings percentage. Before any retrofit, we’d want answers on four things. Airflow: the cabinet’s air curtain and fan arrangement were designed for an open front, and the refrigeration duty changes once doors go on. Condensation: new glass can mist or drip if the job isn’t engineered for it, and anti-mist heaters claw back some of the saving. Warranty and compliance: third-party doors on a manufacturer’s cabinet can affect support, so the maker should be in the conversation. And maintenance: doors add hinges, gaskets and glass that must be kept in order, which is exactly why the brief covers upkeep and training.

Retrofit or replace?

Age decides most of these arguments. A sound mid-life cabinet with years left in it is a genuine retrofit candidate — done properly, with the questions above answered. A tired cabinet nearing the end of its life usually argues for replacement with a modern glass-door unit that was engineered, tested and warranted as a whole. We’ve set the two options against each other in detail in our guide, open multideck vs glass door display fridge.

Craven’s verdict

The strength here is independence: free, technical, vendor-neutral guidance from the industry’s professional institute, written for the people doing the work. The caution is the same one the brief’s existence implies — a retrofit assessed badly can bring condensation trouble, warranty arguments and disappointing savings, so treat doors as an engineering project, not an accessory purchase. It suits shops running sound open multidecks with real life left in them. Read the brief, then talk to Craven Cooling: we’ll help you weigh a proper retrofit against a purpose-built glass-door cabinet on your numbers, not the brochure’s.

The stunt — The Shelf-Edge Week: For one week, check your open multideck twice a day with a simple probe thermometer — once mid-morning, once mid-afternoon. Log the product temperature at the front edge of the top and bottom shelves, and note how cold the aisle feels. If front-edge readings drift high on warm afternoons, your cabinet is fighting the shop — and you’ll walk into any retrofit-or-replace conversation carrying a week of real evidence.

Sources: Cooling Post: IOR briefs on retrofitting doors (13 August 2026) · Institute of Refrigeration: RACHP publications (free download)