Sliding doors vs. hinged doors

Commercial coolers with sliding doors and hinged doors each come with their list of pros and cons. Below we have collected the most essential arguments for and against each door type, so you can choose the right type for your business or better guide your customers to do so.
 

Sliding doors – pros

Takes up less floor space

The best argument for choosing sliding doors is that they save floor space. This makes them ideal for smaller shops with narrow aisles or tight spaces behind a counter or bar area. As the doors slide, they will not take up additional space and clog traffic, when open.

Self-closing doors

Most sliding doors are self-closing, which means they will only be open when needed. This ensures that the internal temperature of the cabinet will remain low and that the cooler will not waste unnecessary energy cooling down a cabinet that has been left open by accident. Most sliding doors have a stay open function as well which is useful when loading the cabinet.

 

Sliding doors - cons

Only one door open at a time

As sliding doors slide in front/behind each other, this means that you can only open one door at a time. The other door will be blocked for other customers or staff members.

Cleaning is crucial for function

With sliding doors, it is essential that you keep the runner clean and free of debris, as it will otherwise stop the doors sliding correctly. In addition to malfunction, this can also entail a higher energy consumption of the cooler, as the doors will not close sufficiently and therefore let in warm air. A cabinet with sliding doors also has more moving parts that wears and will require slightly more maintenance and cleaning than a cabinet with hinged doors.

Freezer with sliding doors

Above, we only write about coolers with sliding doors and that is intentionally. We do not sell freezers with sliding doors. With sliding doors, you cannot achieve a complete seal on the door, and this is needed for a freezer to function. Otherwise, you will end up with ice forming on the seal where the warm air meets the cold. This builds up, stopping the door from closing properly and making the problem worse.

 

Hinged doors - pros

Great for spacious areas

Coolers with hinged doors, or swinging doors as some call them, are great for supermarkets with broad aisles or spacious areas in general. The coolers are easily accessible with a large opening and you have the possibility to open more than one door at a time.

Self-closing doors with an efficient seal

As with sliding doors, most coolers with hinged doors are also self-closing. Combined with an efficient seal with a gasket all the way around the door frame, this means that the cabinet uses as little energy as possible to keep the temperature of the cabinet down. The hinged door also makes door switches possible to control the light, cooling system, and internal fans. In other words, when you open the door, the cabinet will automatically stop cooling, so it does not use unnecessary energy.

The flexible option

We have a broad range of hinged door models, so you can choose between a display cooler with 1, 2, or 3 doors – and the same goes for back bars. This offers flexibility when you are designing the layout of a store or bar area. If you go for sliding doors, we offer 2-door display coolers and back bars with 2 and 3 doors.
 

Hinged doors - cons

Takes up additional space when open

The biggest con concerning hinged doors is that they take up more space, when the doors are open. However, an argument could be that as a person is opening the doors, that person will take up floor space anyway.