Design-build electrical for refrigerated distribution, blast freezers, and temperature-controlled facilities across Texas and the Gulf Coast. We power the cold chain.
Cold storage construction has unique electrical demands that general commercial work doesn’t prepare a contractor for. Refrigerated facilities run continuous high-amperage loads at ambient temperatures NEC 70 specifically derates for. Refrigeration plants combine medium-voltage service entrances with VFD-driven screw compressors, evaporator coils inside freezer spaces, and condenser yards exposed to weather. Power has to be sized, routed, and commissioned with the cold chain’s downtime tolerance in mind — which for most operators is measured in hours, not days.
We deliver design-build electrical systems for cold storage from MV service entrance through commissioning. Our scope includes the refrigeration plant power, ASRS and material-handling power, building automation interfaces, and life-safety systems required by code in occupied freezer spaces.
15kV or 25kV class service entrances sized for refrigeration plant peak load plus ASRS, lighting, and building services. Utility coordination with CenterPoint, Oncor, AEP, or local cooperative. Outdoor pad-mount switchgear, primary metering, and main-tie-main configurations for redundancy.
Power distribution for screw and reciprocating compressor packages, condenser fan motors, and evaporator units. VFD installations for compressor capacity control, motor protection, and arc-flash compliant design per NFPA 70E. Ammonia (R-717) and CO2 (R-744) plant power configurations.
Low-voltage switchgear (UL 891) and panelboards rated for facility-specific fault duties. MCC lineups for refrigeration mechanical rooms. Surge protection at service entrance and at panel locations supporting controls, BMS, and refrigeration logic.
Conduit, conductor, and termination methods rated for sub-freezing ambient temperatures. NEC 310.15 ampacity adjustments for cold rooms. Vapor-tight luminaires, sealed boxes, and panel mounting strategies that handle thermal cycling and condensation.
Integration with refrigeration controls (Logix, Danfoss AK-SM, CPC). BMS tie-ins for HVAC, dock door interlocks, and lighting control. PLC and SCADA work for plant-wide monitoring, alarm management, and demand-response capability.
NFPA 70 Article 700 emergency power circuits, NFPA 110 generator installations sized for refrigeration plant restart sequences. Refrigerant detection wiring for ammonia and CO2 systems. Egress lighting in freezer spaces rated for cold-temperature operation.
Refrigerated distribution centers (3PL cold chain), grocery distribution facilities, food-and-beverage manufacturing with attached cold rooms, pharmaceutical and biopharma cold storage (2–8°C and -20°C), ice plants, and meat/produce processing facilities. Project sizes typically range from 80,000 to 500,000+ square feet, with refrigeration loads from 500 tons to 5,000+ tons.
Texas is the second-largest cold-chain market in the United States. Houston’s port and inland distribution position, Dallas’s national 3PL hub status, and the Gulf Coast’s food-processing concentration drive continuous new construction and capacity expansion. We work this market end-to-end.
Yes. We deliver electrical scope for ammonia refrigeration installations including plant power, refrigerant detection wiring, machinery room ventilation interlocks, and emergency stop circuits per IIAR 2 and ASHRAE 15. Our team coordinates with the refrigeration mechanical contractor on motor sizing, VFD specifications, and control interfaces.
Most facilities we build land between 2,000A and 4,000A at 480V secondary, fed from a 15kV or 25kV class utility primary. The exact sizing depends on refrigeration load, ASRS power demand, future expansion capacity, and utility incentive structures. We size service entrances with realistic growth headroom rather than tight to today’s load.
Yes. Cold storage operators rarely have the option to shut down for electrical work. We plan tie-ins around production schedules, use shutdowns in shoulder periods, and stage temporary power where required. Our work in occupied refrigerated facilities follows lockout-tagout and NFPA 70E procedures with no exception.
Both. Most of our cold storage work is design-build — we engage during preconstruction, work with the refrigeration consulting engineer, and develop the electrical scope alongside the architectural and mechanical design. We also bid plan-and-spec when an EOR has already issued construction documents.
Send us your refrigeration load study, site plan, and target energization date. We’ll come back with a preconstruction estimate and a realistic schedule.