High energy efficiency is a target for any refrigerating plant. To date, no known survey of the practical energy efficiency of refrigerated warehouses has been made in the USA. Such a survey project was conducted by the authors and the results are presented in this paper. A total of 62 responses to a questionnaire were collected from various installations in the USA and Canada. In addition, a field investigation of 14 plants was conducted. Several aspects of the surveyed refrigeration plants, including their energy efficiency, refrigerant selection, compression stages, types of two-stage cycles, and compressor selection, are discussed in this paper. Some recommendations and conclusions are proposed based on the first-hand information surveyed and the authors’ knowledge.