Is an authorisation required for ammonia?

Yes: the use of toxic gases requires an authorisation, with the application handled by the customer and certified personnel for work on the circuit. Tecnofreddo prepares all the technical documentation needed for the application.

How efficient is ZEUS compared with an HFC/HFO chiller?

The positioning figure (+15–20% versus comparable HFC/HFO machines) is being validated by our engineering department. During the site survey we present the test data together with the measurement conditions.

ZEUS IWC — Water at 1 °C with ammonia, glycol-free

Q: Is ammonia safe in a dairy?

Ammonia is a toxic gas and must be treated with respect: ZEUS is designed with leak detection, safety systems compliant with EN 378 and outdoor installation. It is the refrigerant that has cooled the food industry for more than a century.

_ The machine

Process cooling, rethought for the dairy.

Stretching, firming, cold rooms: everything depends on chilled water. ZEUS produces it on a continuous basis, at a temperature close to 1 °C, glycol-free and with no ice build-up — with the thermodynamic benchmark of the refrigeration industry: ammonia.

Continuous, not batch

Not a store that runs out at peak: a steady flow, even in August.

Two independent circuits

If one is under maintenance, the other keeps the water at ~1 °C. The line does not stop.

Air-cooled, outdoor

No towers, no water to treat: outdoor foundation, floor space freed up.

Natural, GWP 0

Ammonia R717: outside the F-Gas Regulation. No quota, no deadline.

Ammonia commands respect. Outdoor installation, away from the production floor; leak detection; safety systems compliant with EN 378. It is the refrigerant of large food-industry facilities — in a dairy-sized format.

ZEUS IWC — air-cooled packaged ammonia unit

_ The dairy in operation · schematic diagram

_ Systems compared

Ice banks, standard chiller or ZEUS?

The three routes to a dairy's chilled water, compared.

Parameter	ZEUS IWC	Ice banks	Glycol chiller (HFC)
Water temp.	+1 °C continuous	+1 °C	+1 °C
Holding at 1 °C	24/7, continuous	8–10 h, then rises	24/7
Glycol	No	No	Yes, mandatory
Modulation	Fine — 2 circuits + floating condensing	Binary (ice or not)	Varies by machine
Footprint	Compact, outdoor	Huge — tanks	Medium
Refrigerant	NH₃ R717 · GWP 0	HFC · high GWP	HFC · high GWP
F-Gas compliance	Exempt from the phase-down	Exposed to the phase-down	Exposed to the phase-down

_ Scroll to compare →

Qualitative comparison with the two most common configurations in Italian dairies. Other glycol-free solutions also exist on the market: if you are evaluating one, bring it to the site survey — we compare the nameplate figures. We calculate the performance of your configuration on your process.

_ The sum you already do every August

How many hours does your tank hold at peak before the water rises again? How much stretching do you reschedule when it happens? How many kWh do you spend every night to rebuild the ice? You don't need our numbers: yours are enough.

_ Custom engineering

Not a catalogue figure. Yours.

We don't build off-the-shelf chillers: since 1988 we have engineered machines around the process of the people who use them. That's why the figure that matters isn't in a brochure — it is calculated on your process, and we put it in writing.

01 · CALCULATED

At the site survey

Process survey: temperatures, flow rates, peaks, space. Sizing comes from your data, not from a standard size.

02 · GUARANTEED

In the quotation

The agreed performance is written in black and white in the quotation. Not "up to": your figure.

03 · VERIFIED

At testing

Your machine is tested under the agreed conditions — and remote monitoring proves it afterwards too, in operation.

ZEUS is tested in our Marsala workshop: glycol-free water at ~1 °C, measured under test conditions. We present the full test data, with their conditions, at the site survey.

_ Why now

The F-Gas phase-down won't wait for your next breakdown.

The quotas of HFC gases that can be placed on the European market are falling progressively: the refrigerant of traditional machines becomes more expensive and less available with every recharge. Those who plan now choose calmly; those who wait for the next failure are at the mercy of prices and lead times. Ammonia is outside this schedule — by design, not by exemption.

If you have R404A / R507

You are in the most exposed band of the phase-down: the replacement should be planned, not endured.

If you have ice banks

Every summer the peak reminds you of the limit of storage. There is another way.

_ Two machines, two profiles

Are you after the simple route or maximum efficiency?

The IWC family has two answers. We don't sell you the bigger one: we help you choose the right one.

The simpler choice

HFO A2L refrigerant — no authorisation procedure
Plug & play: set it down, connect it, run it
For sizes and contexts where speed matters

Maximum efficiency at GWP 0

Ammonia R717: the thermodynamic benchmark, GWP 0
For high, continuous volumes, where energy weighs heavily
Exempt from the phase-down: no deadline on the refrigerant

_ Technical site survey

Let's see whether ZEUS makes sense, for your process.

A technical site survey, free and with no obligation: we survey temperatures, flow rates and spaces, size it to your case and tell you frankly whether ZEUS, NÌKĒ — or staying as you are — is the better choice. A technical survey, not a sales visit.

_ What happens next

1 · We reply within 24 working hours to frame the size and process.
2 · We schedule the site survey: survey of temperatures, flow rates, spaces.
3 · You receive sizing and a quotation with the performance in writing — even if the honest answer is "stay as you are".

EN 378 PED 2014/68/EU · CE LVD + EMC R717 · GWP 0

_ FAQ

Technical questions, technical answers.

Is ammonia safe in a dairy?

Ammonia is a toxic gas and must be treated with respect: that's why ZEUS is designed with leak detection, safety systems compliant with EN 378 and outdoor installation, away from working spaces. It is the refrigerant that has cooled the food industry for more than a century: safety is not an add-on, it is part of the design.

Is an authorisation required?

Yes: the use of toxic gases requires an authorisation, with the application submitted by you as the operator, and certified personnel for work on the circuit. We prepare all the technical documentation needed for the application, and at the site survey we explain exactly what it involves. If you'd rather avoid the procedure, the answer is NÌKĒ (HFO A2L).

How efficient is it compared with an HFC/HFO chiller?

Ammonia is the thermodynamic benchmark of the refrigeration industry. ZEUS's positioning figure (+15–20% versus comparable HFC/HFO machines) is being validated by our engineering department: we prefer to tell you so, and to show you the test data with their measurement conditions at the site survey, rather than promise you a number without context.

How big is it? Where is it installed?

ZEUS is an air-cooled packaged single-block machine: it is installed outdoors, on a foundation, without evaporative towers and without a dedicated machine room inside the production floor. The dimensions depend on the size (200–900 kW), defined on your process.

And service, after installation?

The machine is remotely monitored: we see anomalies while they are still anomalies, not when they have already become a stoppage. The two independent circuits allow scheduled maintenance without shutting down the line. The terms and response times are defined in the service contract, in writing, before the order.

How much does it cost?

We don't publish a price list because there is no standard size: every ZEUS is sized on the process. After the site survey you receive a quotation with price and performance in writing — and we work through the comparison with your current cost together, item by item.

And what if we need something simpler instead?

Then the answer is probably NÌKĒ IWC, ZEUS's sister: HFO A2L refrigerant, no authorisation procedure, plug & play. The same glycol-free water at ~1 °C, a faster route. That is exactly what the site survey is for: to understand which of the two makes sense at your site.

Water at ~1 °C on a continuous basis. Even when the ice bank would give up.