Refrigeration & Cold Chain
Refrigeration plays a vital role in everyday life and public health – from household food storage to markets, health facilities and agriculture value chains. Efficient refrigeration helps reduce food waste, protect medicines and vaccines, and improve affordability and resilience, particularly as temperatures rise and demand for cooling increases worldwide.
Improving the efficiency of refrigeration systems is critical to limit energy use, reduce costs for households and businesses, and cut emissions.
Reliable and efficient refrigeration systems are essential to:
- Safely store food in households and communities, reducing spoilage and waste
- Preserve food quality across local and national supply chains
- Store and distribute medicines and vaccines
- Support small-scale farmers, retailers, and local economies
- Strengthen resilience to climate and supply-chain shocks
The Energy Efficiency Opportunity
Up to 60% lower electricity use
The best available residential fridge-freezers can consume up to 60% less electricity than comparable products using outdated technology.
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Electricity use could increase by over 53% by 2040
As appliance ownership expands, electricity consumption from residential refrigeration could rise by more than 53% by 2040 without stronger efficiency policies.
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Up to 80% lower electricity use
Best available commercial refrigeration equipment can use up to 80% less electricity than comparable systems based on outdated technologies.
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Major savings for power systems and businesses
Improving the efficiency of commercial refrigeration could deliver over 66 TWh of annual electricity savings by 2040, avoid new power plant construction, and save consumers around USD 9.5 billion on electricity bills each year.
U4E analysis based on global refrigeration market and policy scenarios.
Featured Resources
Explore selected U4E projects and resources that advance energy-efficient and climate-friendly refrigeration and cold chain solutions:
