As a result of direct automation of the industrial refrigerating plants the efficiency is generally reduced by: (1) not limiting the peaks of refrigeration demand; (2) not profiting by the permissible temperature variations of the stored goods; (3) allowing unstable cycles of production and distribution. From this ascertainment the authors investigate the advantages of the different forms of storing thermal energy. The conventional thermal energy storage methods are compared such as: (1) the most popular sensible heat storage by means of water or chilled water tank: (2) the storage below freezing by means of liquid solutions (salt, alcohol, glycerol, glycol…); (3) the ice accumulation systems; (4) the eutectic-plate systems. Moreover, temperature fluctuations of the stored goods in a cold store are contemplated as a posible method of storing sensible heat, if moderate (4K for frozen and 2K for fresh goods). The above-mentioned methods, using either sensible or latent heat, are compared in terms of: utilization temperature, accumulation temperature range, and storage capacity per unit mass and unit volume. Loading and unloading rates of the storage device are also significant characteristics. The development of new storage methods are then investigated mainly in respect of energy savings in the field of agro-industries requiring both refrigeration and heating. (1) The accumulation of warm water, using either electric supply during low-fare periods, or heat pumps associated to heat rejection recovery of refrigerating plants, or any combination of both sources; (2) the latent heat accumulation which allows an important space saving compared to sensible heat accumulation. The most important recent improvements are mentioned: (1) physico-chemical (supercooling, non-reversibility of the change-of-phase process, crystallizing rate and heterogeneous crystallization); (2) heat exchange problems; (3) technological constraints; (4) financial amortization. As an illustration of the advantages of heat storage, the authors present a possible application for slaughter houses aiming at energy savings by means of: (1) heat recovery from refrigerant condensation for preheating of process water, with or without thermodynamical amplification (heat pump); (2) optimization of the running cycles of the compressors and adjustment of condensing and evaporating temperature levels. The example of a 10,000 t/year slaughterhouse is presented where an eutectic accumulation device is included in the glycol-water distribution system, allowing for the transfer of a 1250 kWh refrigeration capacity from peak to low level demand periods, with a reduced volume of 25 m 3. As a conclusion, the authors review the main types of application of heat storage.