Industrial Refrigeration Operator Certification

Cooling off refrigeration loads

Industrial refrigeration comprises nearly 9 percent of the Northwest’s regional industrial load. Energy efficiency is increasingly playing a key role in industrial refrigeration, offering these facilities energy savings, financial savings and a stronger bottom line.

NEEA recently partnered with the Refrigerating Engineers & Technicians Association (RETA) to offer a new, energy-efficient training and certification to warehouse operators.  The CRES training series provides valuable information on cost-saving energy efficiency opportunities for refrigeration plants, and offers RETA members a new opportunity to gain a competitive edge and differentiate themselves in the marketplace.

Demonstration trainings are planned in Washington and Idaho, concurrent with developing the exam and finalizing the certification process before rolling this certifcation out to the region, then to RETA's national membership.

Targeted savings are roughly 3 to 7 percent electrical savings from the Refrigeration Load by completing the two courses, with a continued ongoing improvement every year the operators maintain their certification.

Related Resources

  • Strategic Energy Management Assessment Study: Dairies, Irrigators and Nurseries
    The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) engaged Market Strategies International (MSI) to conduct a survey to determine the percentage of industrial companies within eight industrial sectors in the Northwest that have implemented all elements of Strategic Energy Management (SEM). Market penetration of SEM among each of these eight sectors is: 8 percent of all food processing facilities; 4 percent of beverage manufacturing facilities; 5 percent of small manufacturing facilities; 12 percent of medium manufacturing facilities; 7 percent of metals manufacturers; 3 percent of dairies; 4 percent of irrigators; and 3 percent of nurseries. Among the large food processing segment (that is, facilities with at least 250 employees in the Northwest, and in which NEEA had focused its SEM efforts since 2005), 33 percent practice SEM, and 14 percent credit NEEA as the source of awareness of SEM.  MSI recommends that because most of the organizations in these eight sectors lack the resources and bandwidth to focus on the establishment of an SEM system, NEEA and its partners should provide significant direction and support regarding how to implement the various elements of SEM within a smaller operation.
    PDF, 1016.10 KB
  • Strategic Energy Management Assessment Study: Small, Medium and Metals Manufacturers
    The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) engaged Market Strategies International (MSI) to conduct a survey to determine the percentage of industrial companies within eight industrial sectors in the Northwest that have implemented all elements of Strategic Energy Management (SEM). Market penetration of SEM among each of these eight sectors is: 8 percent of all food processing facilities; 4 percent of beverage manufacturing facilities; 5 percent of small manufacturing facilities; 12 percent of medium manufacturing facilities; 7 percent of metals manufacturers; 3 percent of dairies; 4 percent of irrigators; and 3 percent of nurseries. Among the large food processing segment (that is, facilities with at least 250 employees in the Northwest, and in which NEEA had focused its SEM efforts since 2005), 33 percent practice SEM, and 14 percent credit NEEA as the source of awareness of SEM.  MSI recommends that because most of the organizations in these eight sectors lack the resources and bandwidth to focus on the establishment of an SEM system, NEEA and its partners should provide significant direction and support regarding how to implement the various elements of SEM within a smaller operation.
    PDF, 1.26 MB
  • Strategic Energy Management Assessment Study: Food Processors and Beverage Manufacturers
    The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) engaged Market Strategies International (MSI) to conduct a survey to determine the percentage of industrial companies within eight industrial sectors in the Northwest that have implemented all elements of Strategic Energy Management (SEM). Market penetration of SEM among each of these eight sectors is: 8 percent of all food processing facilities; 4 percent of beverage manufacturing facilities; 5 percent of small manufacturing facilities; 12 percent of medium manufacturing facilities; 7 percent of metals manufacturers; 3 percent of dairies; 4 percent of irrigators; and 3 percent of nurseries. Among the large food processing segment (that is, facilities with at least 250 employees in the Northwest, and in which NEEA had focused its SEM efforts since 2005), 33 percent practice SEM, and 14 percent credit NEEA as the source of awareness of SEM.  MSI recommends that because most of the organizations in these eight sectors lack the resources and bandwidth to focus on the establishment of an SEM system, NEEA and its partners should provide significant direction and support regarding how to implement the various elements of SEM within a smaller operation.
    PDF, 1.29 MB

Training Spotlight

CRES Program Update

NEEA and RETA are partnering to pilot and develop CRES, a new specialist certification and training series that provides valuable information on cost-saving energy efficiency opportunities for refrigeration plants. Certification involves demonstrating understanding of basic refrigeration concepts such as CARO-level knowledge, passing a CRES exam and completing and documenting five low- and no-cost energy efficiency activities.

Learn more

NEEA Team Lead

Lori Rhodig

I nitiative Manager