Efficient NH3 Refrigeration Systems
Ammonia (R717) is not just a trend, but the proven standard for large-scale industrial refrigeration—and it’s more relevant today than ever. As a natural refrigerant, NH₃ combines unmatched thermodynamic properties with absolute regulatory future-proofing. At cold.world ENGINEERING, we design and optimize ammonia systems that deliver the highest cooling capacities while significantly reducing your operating costs through maximum energy efficiency.
Resource-Efficient Refrigeration Technology Using Ammonia (R717)
In industrial refrigeration, there is virtually no way around ammonia. It is the refrigerant of choice for logistics warehouses, the food industry, and process cooling.
- Maximum energy efficiency: Ammonia has excellent heat transfer properties. R717 systems often achieve significantly higher coefficient of performance (COP) values than comparable systems using synthetic refrigerants.
- Future-proof (F-gas-free): With a direct global warming potential (GWP) of 0 and an ozone depletion potential (ODP) of 0, ammonia is not subject to any restrictions under the F-Gas Regulation.
- Low operating costs: In addition to its low specific energy consumption, the refrigerant itself is very cost-effective and will be available for the long term.
- Compact designs: Thanks to the high volumetric cooling capacity, piping cross-sections and components can often be designed to be more compact relative to the capacity.
Our Services: Reliable. Efficient. Well-thought-out.
Handling NH₃ requires specialized engineering expertise, particularly with regard to plant-specific safety regulations and material requirements (e.g., the absence of non-ferrous metals). As an engineering firm, we support you from the initial concept study through to final acceptance.
1. Planning & Design (New Construction)
We design custom NH₃ refrigeration plants, pump packages, and indirect liquid coolers. In doing so, we ensure strict compliance with all legal requirements (e.g., BImSchG, TRAS 110, AwSV) as an integral part of the detailed design process.
2. Renovation & Optimization (Existing Buildings)
Is your existing system consuming too much energy or no longer state-of-the-art? We’ll analyze your existing system and develop well-founded plans for energy optimization, capacity expansion, or a safe retrofit.
3. Safety Plans & Permits
Ammonia is highly efficient but toxic. We’ll handle the technical work for you on safety concepts, risk assessments, and explosion protection documentation. We’ll assist you with the permitting process to ensure your facility meets the highest standards for plant safety.
Applications for Our NH₃ Solutions
- Logistics & Cold Storage Facilities: Highly efficient frozen and fresh food storage facilities.
- Food industry: breweries, dairies, industrial meat processing.
- Process Cooling: Chemical, Pharmaceutical, and Manufacturing Industries.
- Industrial heat pumps: Use of NH₃ to highly efficiently integrate industrial waste heat into production processes or heating networks.
Is ammonia dangerous?
Ammonia is toxic and flammable at certain concentrations. However, thanks to modern safety technology, redundant gas detection systems, and professional planning in accordance with current regulations (in particular DIN EN 378 and TRAS 110), its use in industrial applications is highly safe and has been proven millions of times over. A key safety advantage: Ammonia acts as its own “warning system” due to its pungent odor, which humans can detect even at the smallest, absolutely harmless concentrations.
Is it worth converting to ammonia?
For systems with a cooling capacity of approximately 100 to 150 kW or more, ammonia is generally the best solution from both a thermodynamic and economic standpoint. The often slightly higher initial investment costs for safety equipment are typically recouped quickly through significant savings in electricity and life-cycle costs.
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