The measured capacity of refrigeration is always dimensioned in units of power. Domestic and commercial refrigerators may be rated in kJ/s, or Btu/h of cooling. For commercial and industrial refrigeration systems, most of the world uses the kilowatt (kW) as the basic unit of refrigeration. Typically, commercial and industrial refrigeration systems in North America are rated in tons of refrigeration (TR). Historically, one TR was defined as the energy removal rate that will freeze one short ton of water at 0 °C (32 °F) in one day. This was very important because many early refrigeration systems were in ice houses. The simple unit allowed owners of these early refrigeration systems to measure a day's output of ice against energy consumption, and to compare their plant to one down the street. While ice houses make up a much smaller part of the refrigeration industry than they once did, the unit TR has remained in North America. The unit's value as historically defined was approximately 11,958 Btu/hr (3.505 kW), and has now been conventionally redefined as exactly 12,000 Btu/hr (3.517 kW).

A refrigeration system's coefficient of performance (CoP) is very important in determining a system's overall efficiency. It is defined as refrigeration capacity in kW divided by the energy input in kW. While CoP is a very simple measure of performance, it is typically not used for industrial refrigeration in North America. Owners and manufacturers of these systems typically use performance factor (PF). A system's PF is defined as a system's energy input in horsepower divided by its refrigeration capacity in TR. Both CoP and PF can be applied to either the entire system or to system components. For example, an individual compressor can be rated by comparing the energy needed to run the compressor versus the expected refrigeration capacity based on inlet volume flow rate. It is important to note that both CoP and PF for a refrigeration system are only defined at specific operating conditions, including temperatures and thermal loads. Moving away from the specified operating conditions can dramatically change a system's performance.