Wisconsin Industrial Ammonia Refrigeration Contractors

Full-Service Ammonia (R-717) Refrigeration Company Serving the Midwest

Trust Discover Designs Refrigeration to handle all of your ammonia refrigerant needs, from design to installation, service and preventative maintenance. We are a full-service refrigeration company with the knowledge and experience to provide premier ammonia refrigeration solutions for businesses throughout the Midwest in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and beyond.

Industrial Ammonia Refrigeration System Design & Fabrication

Discovery Designs Refrigeration is the Midwest’s leading industrial refrigeration design company. We have decades of experience designing and installing industrial ammonia refrigeration systems, giving us the knowledge and abilities to design your ideal system. We design & fabricate efficient, reliable systems from the ground up with services including:

• Custom Refrigeration Systems
• Custom Pipe Fitting
• Pipe Insulation
• & More

Industrial Ammonia Refrigeration Installation

Industrial refrigeration systems primarily use ammonia as a refrigerant. Ammonia is 100% natural, safe for the environment and the most efficient refrigerant available. Our experienced team installs the following ammonia refrigerant products:

• Ammonia Blast Freezer Systems
• Insulated Metal Panels
• & More

1.   Meticulous design & installation
2.   Precision temperature control
3.   Uninterrupted high performance

Why Choose Discovery Designs Refrigeration?

Discovery Designs Refrigeration knows exactly how your refrigeration system works. It’s all we do. With over 20 years of experience designing, constructing and installing highly complex refrigeration systems, we create systems with seamless, cost-effective operation.

Don’t risk draining your revenue on contractors unfamiliar with your equipment. Contact the industrial refrigeration professionals at Discovery Designs Refrigeration for more information on energy-efficient ammonia refrigeration systems.

Process Safety Management (PSM) Services

Discovery Designs provides comprehensive Process Safety Management (PSM) services from complete program development to general consulting. With over 20 years of experience in industrial ammonia refrigeration, we offer premier PSM services to protect branding, create peace of mind and provide regulatory compliance through a safe work environment. We’re refrigeration experts, because refrigeration is all we do, and we prove it with every world-class system installation.

Our Industrial Ammonia Refrigeration Process

Direct Designs Refrigeration sees potential and workability in every facility, location and budget situation. We enhance your space by designing, installing and servicing custom ammonia refrigeration systems to give you the highest return on investment.

Ammonia Refrigeration Basics

Ammonia is the refrigerant of choice in the food preservation business due to its unmatched thermodynamic properties. The growing concern for environmental impact and F-gas regulation has pushed refrigeration technicians towards natural alternatives like ammonia and carbon dioxide refrigerants.

What is Ammonia Refrigeration?

Ammonia (R-717) refrigeration is an industrial-scale technology using ammonia as the primary refrigerant. Ammonia is a natural, non-toxic and highly efficient refrigerant commonly used in large commercial and industrial cooling applications.

Ammonia offers several key advantages over synthetic refrigerants:

• Cost-Effectiveness: Ammonia is abundant and affordable, with refrigerant-grade costs typically under $0.50 per pound, compared to $7+ for synthetic options.
• High Efficiency: Ammonia has an extremely high latent heat capacity, requiring less refrigerant to provide the same cooling for lower energy use and operating costs.
• Environmental Benefits: Ammonia is a natural refrigerant with zero ozone depletion or global warming potential, making it a sustainable choice.

Ammonia’s combination of cost-effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability make it a preferred refrigerant for large-scale industrial and commercial cooling.

How does an Ammonia Refrigeration System work?

Industrial refrigeration typically uses a vapor-compression system and uses a refrigerant to move heat energy from one place to another. This refrigerant exists mainly as a vapor but goes through a continuous cycle of changes. During the cycle, it's periodically compressed into a liquid state and then allowed to expand back into vapor form.

As the refrigerant goes through this compression and expansion process, its temperature rises and falls to create a cooling effect. Coordinating this process perfectly in a controlled system to master temperature is what we’re all about.

The refrigerant’s physical properties determine the temperature ranges and pressures in the system. Ammonia’s unique properties make it an ideal refrigerant for large industrial refrigeration systems.

Why is Ammonia a Good Refrigerant? 

• Natural and Environmentally Friendly

  Ammonia occurs naturally in the environment as bacteria in water and soil before it is released into the air as vapors, dissipating and reacting with moisture. As a result, ammonia is considered to be one of the most environmentally safe refrigerants available to the public. It has a GWP (Global Warming Potential) and ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential) equal to zero.

• Energy Efficient

  Ammonia refrigeration systems are considered by industry experts to be the safest and most sustainable refrigeration choice available. An industrial ammonia refrigeration system uses a combination of NH3 and CO2 gasses and can be up to 20% more efficient than similar systems.

• Requires Smaller Pipe Sizes

  Ammonia gas and ammonia liquid require smaller diameter pipes than other chemical refrigerants, allowing these refrigeration systems to fit into smaller areas of buildings and warehouses. Smaller pipes also mean better and more efficient heat transfer.

• Better Heat Transfer Lowers Cost

  Unlike other types of refrigerants, ammonia has superior thermodynamic qualities. As a result, ammonia refrigeration systems require less area for heat transfer. That means less electricity—and lower costs.

• Low Material Price

  In most countries, the cost of ammonia per kilogram is lower than other refrigerants, saving you money on materials. Ammonia refrigerant’s thermodynamic qualities offer heat transfer, lowering your overall electric bill.

Our team has the experience to design, build and service ammonia industrial refrigeration systems of any size. Our refrigeration professionals are trained to safely handle ammonia and keep your system running efficiently. Our construction crews are safety trained, welders are certified and foremen have the experience to get the job done on schedule and within budget.

Compare the pros and cons of ammonia refrigerant systems and CO2 refrigerant systems.

Is Ammonia Refrigerant Dangerous? 

All chemicals are dangerous when mishandled; ammonia is no different. With proper maintenance practices, DDRef's custom commercial refrigeration systems are the safest available, keeping you and your employees working hard without setbacks.

Serving Clients in Wisconsin & Midwest Wide

We offer nationwide ammonia commercial refrigeration services from our home office in Mukwonago (between Milwaukee and Madison), Wisconsin. We serve clients from places including, but not limited to: