Frick packaged ammonia heat pump
2nd November 2026
USA: Johnson Controls has announced the launch of the Frick HeatPAC reciprocating ammonia heat pump for food and beverage processing facilities.
HeatPAC recovers waste heat from ammonia refrigeration systems to provide high-temperature hot water for processes like pasteurisation, sanitation and space heating.
Johnson Controls maintains that for typical food and beverage applications, HeatPAC can be up to seven times more energy efficient than a natural gas boiler. Its standardised, factory-assembled design is also said to reduce upfront investment and can shorten lead times by weeks compared with engineered-to-order industrial heat pumps.
Food and beverage manufacturers often use energy to remove heat from one part of an operation while generating heat elsewhere. HeatPAC connects these needs, helping customers recover more value from existing infrastructure and reduce reliance on additional energy inputs without disrupting critical production processes.
“HeatPAC applies Johnson Controls deep thermal management expertise to help customers put energy they have already generated back to work,” explained Johnson Controls product manager Micah Lehman. “By combining advanced equipment, controls and performance modelling, we can help customers improve efficiency, lower costs and strengthen the competitiveness of their operations.”
Pre-engineered and fully packaged, HeatPAC units have a standardised, streamlined design that Johnson Controls says reduces complexity associated with engineered-to-order heat pump systems. The approach can lower upfront investment and shorten lead times by weeks, it says.
HeatPAC is the first Frick product engineered around a Mark 5 Sabroe reciprocating compressor platform and has a heating capacity range of 200kW to 2000kW while providing hot water temperatures ranging from 130°F to 190°F (54ºC to 88ºC).
The factory-assembled, pre-tested packaged units include a fully welded plate-and-shell condenser with an integrated desuperheater and two-stage oil separation technology designed to maximise heat exchanger performance. A crankcase ventilation system helps protect equipment from damage caused by liquid slugging, while a standard 4:1 turndown variable frequency drive provides part-load efficiency.
The ammonia charge is as low as 87lb (40kg).
Each unit is equipped with a Frick Quantum HD controller with Unity architecture, which integrates with a wide variety of plant control systems. Each 15-inch-high contrast touchscreen control panel is configured for each application and can be integrated with other refrigeration equipment throughout the facility, providing coordinated operation and convenient remote access.
Johnson Controls Frick Coolware selection software helps customers select industrial refrigeration equipment and estimate potential performance. Users can enter application parameters to receive an estimate of approximately how much waste heat will be required, what the efficiency level will be and how much heat will be received.
Coolware can also provide the performance ratings needed to estimate operating costs of a new heat pump. Johnson Controls offers the example, in a modelled case, of a cheese producer requiring 2,000kW of 140°F (60ºC) hot water. The HeatPAC heat pump is projected to reduce annual energy costs by up to 40% compared with natural gas boilers, based on the energy-price and operating assumptions entered into the software.
