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CalculatorArea, count, BOQ
Thickness guideU-values
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GuidesPrice, thickness, PIR
What thickness of PUF panel do I need?
Typical choices: 30–50 mm for ambient sheds and cabins, 80–100 mm for chillers at +2 to +8 °C, 120–150 mm for freezers at −18 to −25 °C and 150–200 mm for blast freezers. Go thicker in hot regions, for frequent door openings or where power is expensive. Your refrigeration designer has the final word.
- Chiller
- 80–100 mm (typical)
- Freezer
- 120–150 mm (typical)
- Blast freezer
- 150–200 mm (typical)
- U at 100 mm
- ≈ 0.21 W/m²K
PUF panel thickness chart by room temperature
| Room | Inside temperature | Typical thickness | Common pick | U at pick (W/m²K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambient shed / cabin | No cooling, heat control only | 30–50 mm | 50 mm | ≈ 0.41 |
| AC room / clean room | +18 to +25 °C | 50–80 mm | 60 mm | ≈ 0.35 |
| Ripening / mushroom | +12 to +20 °C | 60–100 mm | 80 mm | ≈ 0.26 |
| Chiller | +2 to +8 °C | 80–100 mm | 100 mm | ≈ 0.21 |
| Zero / near-freezing | −5 to 0 °C | 100–120 mm | 100 mm | ≈ 0.21 |
| Freezer | −18 to −25 °C | 120–150 mm | 150 mm | ≈ 0.143 |
| Blast freezer | −35 to −40 °C | 150–200 mm | 200 mm | ≈ 0.108 |
Try the interactive picker on the thickness guide: the cross-section thickens and the U-value updates as you move the slider.
What does the U-value mean?
- U-value
- The heat that passes through one square metre of panel for each degree of temperature difference, in W/m²K. Lower is better. Doubling the core thickness roughly halves the U-value.
| Thickness | 30 mm | 50 mm | 80 mm | 100 mm | 120 mm | 150 mm | 200 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U (W/m²K) | 0.65 | 0.41 | 0.26 | 0.21 | 0.178 | 0.143 | 0.108 |
How much heat gets through? A worked example
Heat gain through a panel is Q = U × A × ΔT: the U-value, times the area in m², times the difference between the outside and inside temperature.
- Chiller, 100 mm
- 0.21 × 1 m² × (35 − 2) °C ≈ 7.0 W per m²
- Freezer, 100 mm
- 0.21 × 1 m² × (35 + 20) °C ≈ 11.7 W per m²
- Freezer, 150 mm
- 0.143 × 1 m² × (35 + 20) °C ≈ 7.9 W per m²
So a −20 °C freezer built with 150 mm panels lets through about as much heat per square metre as a +2 °C chiller built with 100 mm. That is why freezers use thicker panels: the temperature difference is much larger.
Do the floor and ceiling need the same thickness?
The ceiling normally uses the same thickness as the walls, because it sits under a hot roof and often sees the largest temperature difference in the room. Some designers go one step thicker on the ceiling of a freezer for that reason.
Floors depend on the temperature. Chillers above 0 °C often sit on an existing concrete floor with a floor channel. Rooms below 0 °C need an insulated floor, usually with heating or ventilation under it, because ground moisture can freeze and lift the slab (frost heave). The floor build-up and its insulation thickness are part of the refrigeration design.
When should I choose a thicker panel?
- Hot regions where summer air often passes 40 °C, such as Rajasthan, Gujarat and central India.
- Rooms in direct sun, or under a hot uninsulated roof.
- Frequent door openings (dispatch rooms, retail back rooms).
- Expensive or unreliable power, where every watt of refrigeration matters.
- Products that are very sensitive to temperature swings, such as vaccines.
Rooms below 0 °C also need an insulated floor. And for roofs of ambient sheds, even 30–50 mm cuts the heat coming through a bare metal sheet dramatically: a bare sheet offers almost no insulation.
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