• Energy Efficiency

• Ammonia: Excellent thermodynamic properties, requiring less charge for the same cooling duty. Higher Coefficient of Performance (COP).
• Freon: Less efficient at large scale, requiring more refrigerant charge and energy consumption.
• Advantage: Ammonia plants consume 15–20% less energy than Freon systems in industrial applications.

• Safety Considerations

• Ammonia: Toxic in high concentrations and mildly flammable, but risks are managed with modern safety systems (detectors, ventilation, containment).

• Freon: Generally non-toxic, but many HFCs decompose into harmful gases when exposed to flame. Environmental risks are unavoidable.
• Advantage: Ammonia’s manageable risks outweigh Freon’s permanent environmental impact.

• System Capacity & Application

• Ammonia: Ideal for large-scale refrigeration such as cold storage, food processing, breweries, and petrochemicals.
• Freon: More suited to small-to-medium systems like supermarkets and air conditioning.
• Advantage: Ammonia is unmatched in capacity and performance for industrial use.