Not all refrigerated food and beverage warehouses have the luxury of being located away from people in wide-open spaces next to an interstate and a railroad spur. Many are located in congested downtown areas or suburban areas with sprawl in every direction. Why should location matter? Imagine a worst-case scenario where 10,000 pounds or more of dangerous ammonia gas burst forth into the surrounding neighborhood due to a catastrophic leak caused by equipment failures … or even worse, an extreme weather event.

While new government safety regulations are attempting to limit the amount of ammonia at any one location, this reduction presents a real challenge to architects and builders who are constructing bigger and bigger refrigerated/frozen warehouses, with interior spaces that often exceed 5 million cubic feet. While an ammonia-based refrigeration system that uses a lot less refrigerant would be a safe solution,  achieving a workable design has been akin to the search for the Holy Grail—that is, until recently.