Refrigeration technicians consistently earn more than HVAC technicians with comparable experience. The national average for refrigeration work sits around $33/hour — roughly $5–8/hour above the HVAC average — and that gap grows wider as you move into industrial ammonia systems, where experienced operators regularly earn $85,000–$100,000+ before overtime.
Most HVAC technicians know refrigeration is an option. Most don't know exactly how the career differs, what the work looks like day to day, or which piece of the refrigeration world pays the most. That's what this guide covers.
Refrigeration vs. HVAC: The Key Differences
The technical foundation overlaps significantly. Both trades deal with refrigeration cycles, compressors, heat exchangers, expansion devices, and system pressures. An HVAC tech who can diagnose a low-superheat condition on a split system already understands the principles that apply to a supermarket display case.
What changes is the application, the scale, and the regulatory environment.
HVAC is primarily about comfort — managing temperature and air quality in occupied spaces. The equipment runs on HFC and now increasingly A2L refrigerants. Residential systems are relatively small and standardized. Commercial HVAC scales up but the goal is still human comfort.
Refrigeration is about preserving products — food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, biological materials — at specific temperatures that may be well below freezing. The applications range from a walk-in cooler at a restaurant to a 500,000-square-foot cold storage warehouse to an ammonia chiller plant at a food processing facility. At the commercial end, most systems use HFC refrigerants like R-404A, R-448A, and increasingly CO2 (R-744). At the industrial end, anhydrous ammonia (R-717) dominates.
The scope of failure is different too. A commercial HVAC system that goes down means people are uncomfortable. A refrigeration system that fails means product loss — potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars of frozen food, pharmaceuticals, or ingredients. That urgency is priced into refrigeration service rates and, by extension, technician pay.
The Three Major Refrigeration Specialties
Commercial Refrigeration
This is the largest slice of the market by job count. Commercial refrigeration covers supermarket display cases and rack systems, restaurant walk-in coolers and freezers, convenience store merchandisers, foodservice equipment, and cold storage in distribution centers.
Supermarket work is technically demanding. A modern supermarket runs a central rack system — typically a parallel compression rack in the back room — that serves dozens of display cases throughout the store via distributed piping. Electronic expansion valves, electronic controls, and remote monitoring are standard on new installations. CO2 transcritical systems are becoming common in new construction, particularly in northern markets, and techs with CO2 rack experience are increasingly valuable.
Pay for commercial refrigeration techs: $55,000–$80,000 for mid-level work, with senior techs at larger employers earning $80,000–$95,000. Supermarket-focused contractors in major metros pay at the upper end of this range.
Cold Storage and Industrial Refrigeration
Cold storage warehouses, food processing plants, breweries, ice cream manufacturers, pharmaceutical cold chains, and ice rinks all run systems at a different scale than commercial refrigeration. The equipment is larger — industrial centrifugal or screw compressors, evaporative condensers, plate-and-frame heat exchangers, ammonia vessels — and the regulatory environment is significantly more complex.
Facilities that use more than 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia trigger OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) standard and EPA's Risk Management Plan (RMP) requirements. These are not light administrative burdens. PSM compliance involves written procedures for every major operation, formal hazard reviews conducted every five years, rigorous contractor management programs, and mechanical integrity inspection programs for every piece of pressure-containing equipment. Technicians who work in these facilities must understand PSM requirements, not just refrigeration mechanics.
Pay reflects the complexity and regulatory responsibility. Industrial refrigeration techs in cold storage and food processing earn $70,000–$100,000+, with experienced operators at ammonia facilities in the $85,000–$110,000 range before overtime. Overtime at 24/7 operations adds $10,000–$25,000 per year for techs in on-call rotations.
Industrial Process Refrigeration
Beyond food and cold storage, refrigeration appears in pharmaceutical manufacturing, chemical processing, petrochemical facilities, and industrial gas production. These applications often involve exotic refrigerants, very low temperature requirements, and specialized system designs. This is a smaller job market than food-related refrigeration but typically pays at the top of the industry. Techs with this background are often recruited from industrial refrigeration by engineering contractors and equipment manufacturers.
What the Work Looks Like Day to Day
A commercial refrigeration tech at a supermarket chain might have a route of 15–20 stores they cover for preventive maintenance, and they respond to service calls when display cases go out or a rack system throws an alarm. The work involves system diagnostics, leak checks, refrigerant recovery and recharge, controls troubleshooting, and coordinating with store management when a system will be down for repair.
Night and weekend work is normal in supermarket refrigeration because most repairs can't happen during peak store hours. Planned maintenance windows are often scheduled after close. If you're not comfortable with flexible hours, commercial refrigeration service is harder to enjoy.
An industrial refrigeration tech at a cold storage warehouse operates and maintains systems that can't go down without causing product loss. They perform daily system walkthroughs, check compressor oil levels and discharge pressures, review the trending data from the plant controller, and carry out the preventive maintenance schedule. When something breaks — a compressor trips offline, a solenoid valve sticks, a condenser fan motor fails — they diagnose and repair it, following documented procedures and logging every action.
The industrial environment emphasizes documentation and procedure-following more than commercial service work. You're not improvising; you're executing a written work process and recording the results. Techs who come from commercial service sometimes find the adjustment difficult initially. Techs who understand why that culture exists — you are working with systems that can catastrophically fail and harm people if managed carelessly — adapt quickly.
Refrigeration vs. HVAC: Salary Comparison
| Role | Pay Range (2026) |
|---|---|
| Residential HVAC tech | $45,000–$65,000 |
| Commercial HVAC tech | $55,000–$80,000 |
| Commercial refrigeration tech | $60,000–$95,000 |
| Industrial refrigeration tech (HFC systems) | $70,000–$95,000 |
| Industrial refrigeration tech (ammonia/PSM) | $80,000–$115,000 |
| Refrigeration systems engineer | $90,000–$130,000 |
These are base pay figures. Industrial refrigeration at 24/7 operations with on-call coverage frequently adds $10,000–$25,000 annually in overtime and on-call pay.
Geography matters. Cold storage hubs — rural areas near agricultural processing regions in the Midwest and South — sometimes pay less than coastal metros for the same technical work. But many industrial refrigeration facilities aren't in major cities. A cold storage facility in central Iowa may not pay San Francisco rates, but the cost of living doesn't either.
Required Certifications
EPA 608 Universal — The non-negotiable baseline. Required for any work involving refrigerant handling. Universal covers all refrigerant categories (Type I, II, and III). If you only have Type II (high-pressure), get the full Universal certification before pursuing refrigeration roles.
RETA CARO — Certified Assistant Refrigeration Operator — RETA (Refrigerating Engineers and Technicians Association) is the certification body for industrial refrigeration. CARO is the entry-level credential, covering basic knowledge required to work safely in an industrial refrigeration engine room. It's the first certification required by many food processing and cold storage employers for anyone working on their refrigeration systems. Exam fee is $570 for RETA members, $865 for non-members. Both CARO and CIRO require four years of documented industrial refrigeration experience to sit for the exam — but you can begin working toward that experience through commercial or light industrial refrigeration roles.
RETA CIRO — Certified Industrial Refrigeration Operator — The next level, assessing the knowledge and judgment required to supervise industrial refrigeration operations. CIRO is often a requirement for lead technician and shift supervisor roles at ammonia facilities. Same four-year experience requirement as CARO.
RETA CRST — Certified Refrigeration Service Technician — Oriented toward service technicians rather than plant operators. Covers troubleshooting, system startup and shutdown, leak detection, and repair procedures. Relevant for techs who service industrial refrigeration systems rather than operate them continuously.
CO2 Transcritical Training — Not a formal certification body the way RETA is, but CO2 system training is worth pursuing. NASTEC, RSES, and equipment manufacturers like Danfoss, Emerson, and Hussmann all offer CO2 training programs. CO2 transcritical racks are increasingly common in new supermarket construction, and techs who understand them are genuinely scarce right now.
Top Employers in Commercial and Industrial Refrigeration
Commercial refrigeration contractors — Hussmann (manufacturer-owned service), Tyler Refrigeration (Carrier subsidiary), and regional contractors who service supermarket accounts are the primary employers on the commercial side. Supermarket chains like Kroger, Albertsons, Walmart, and Target also employ in-house refrigeration technicians for their store fleets.
Cold storage operators — Lineage Logistics (the largest cold storage company in the world, operating over 400 facilities in North America), Americold Logistics, United States Cold Storage, and KeHE Distributors all employ large refrigeration technician workforces. Lineage in particular has been aggressively hiring as it expands capacity.
Food processing companies — Tyson Foods, JBS USA, Smithfield Foods, Perdue Farms, and Cargill all operate large refrigeration systems at their processing plants. These facilities often employ mechanics and operators directly rather than using contractors.
Industrial gas and petrochemical — Air Products, Linde, Praxair (now part of Linde), and BASF operate refrigeration systems at their production facilities. This is a smaller market but pays at the top of the industry.
How HVAC Technicians Transition to Refrigeration
The technical foundation is already there. An HVAC tech who has worked on commercial split systems has already dealt with compressors, refrigerant circuit diagnosis, and pressure-enthalpy relationships. The adjustment is about expanding that foundation into refrigeration-specific equipment and learning the regulatory and procedural environment for the sector you're entering.
For commercial refrigeration: Start applying to commercial refrigeration contractors or chains with in-house service teams. Your EPA 608 Universal is required and — if you don't have it — should be your immediate next step. The interview process will test your refrigeration fundamentals. Expect questions about superheat and subcooling measurement, leak detection procedures, and electronic expansion valve operation. If you're weak on refrigeration theory, spend a few weeks with RSES study materials before applying.
For industrial refrigeration: The path typically runs through commercial refrigeration first. Techs who try to enter industrial ammonia work directly from residential HVAC face a steeper curve than those who have a few years of commercial refrigeration experience. Some industrial employers — particularly in regions with strong labor demand — will hire HVAC techs directly into entry-level operator roles and train them on ammonia systems. But the more typical path is commercial refrigeration first, then transition to industrial.
RETA membership is worth the cost if you're serious about industrial refrigeration. The organization offers training resources, study materials for the certification exams, and chapter-level networking with employers in the industry.
What to say in interviews: Hiring managers at refrigeration contractors want to know you understand the stakes of the work — that product loss from a system failure costs real money and that safety around ammonia or high-pressure systems is not optional. Demonstrating that you understand the difference between servicing a comfort cooling system and working on a refrigeration system where people's jobs depend on uptime changes how interviews go.
Is the Switch Worth It?
For most experienced HVAC technicians, yes — if you're willing to invest in the commercial refrigeration experience that leads to industrial work.
The pay premium is real and consistent across sources. The work is demanding and the irregular hours (nights, weekends, on-call rotations) are part of the deal in service roles. But the combination of higher base pay, substantial overtime opportunity, and strong demand from food and cold chain employers creates an income ceiling that general HVAC service rarely matches.
The industrial refrigeration labor market is also relatively recession-resistant. People don't stop buying food when the economy contracts. Cold storage and food processing operate regardless of what's happening in residential construction or commercial office real estate — two sectors that can pull HVAC demand down during downturns.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between HVAC and refrigeration technicians?
HVAC technicians primarily work on comfort cooling and heating systems. Refrigeration technicians work on systems designed to preserve products at controlled temperatures, including commercial refrigeration cases and racks, cold storage facilities, and industrial ammonia systems. Refrigeration work involves larger, more complex systems and typically pays more than comparable HVAC work.
Do refrigeration technicians need a different certification than HVAC techs?
EPA 608 Universal certification covers refrigerant handling for both HVAC and refrigeration work. Industrial refrigeration adds RETA certifications: the CARO is the entry-level industrial credential and the CIRO is for more advanced roles. Both require four years of documented industrial refrigeration experience to sit for the exam.
How much do industrial refrigeration technicians make?
Industrial refrigeration technicians working with ammonia systems in food processing or cold storage earn $80,000–$115,000 in base pay, with overtime and on-call rotation commonly adding $10,000–$25,000 annually. Senior operators and shift supervisors at large facilities can approach or exceed $120,000 in total compensation.
What is a CO2 transcritical system?
CO2 transcritical refrigeration systems use carbon dioxide (R-744) as the refrigerant instead of conventional HFC refrigerants. These systems are increasingly common in supermarket and food retail applications because CO2 has a very low global warming potential compared to HFCs. Transcritical operation (running above CO2's critical point) requires different system design and operating procedures than conventional subcritical refrigeration. Techs with CO2 experience are in high demand as supermarket chains retrofit and build new stores.
Which employers hire the most refrigeration technicians?
Lineage Logistics, Americold, and United States Cold Storage are among the largest employers on the cold storage side. Major supermarket contractors include Hussmann Service and Tyler Refrigeration. Food processing companies — Tyson, JBS, Smithfield, Cargill — employ large in-house refrigeration teams. Most states have regional industrial refrigeration contractors serving food, pharmaceutical, and chemical facilities.
Search refrigeration technician jobs on HVACJobs.IO — filter by job type to find commercial and industrial refrigeration openings in your area. If you're targeting industrial work, start building the four years of refrigeration experience now that the RETA exams require.