Refrigerated warehouses for chilled and frozen foods represent a large portion of the energy demand in the refrigeration sector.

This paper analyses the influence of different configurations and technologies on energy use in industrial refrigeration systems. Furthermore, it is addressed the issue of the absence of a clear methodology to evaluate energy efficiency actions in industrial refrigeration systems. An attempt to define a reference baseline is made in order to quantify the effect of interventions aimed at improving the energy performance.

A survey among Italian companies in this specific sector together with simulation analysis are used to present the state of the art in industrial refrigeration systems and to quantify the effect of potential technological improvements.