Buildings located inside oil refineries are a typical example of industrial buildings where designers need to balance life safety and energy efficiency. The three most common hazards that such buildings are subject to are blasts, toxic gasses and flammable gasses. The key to achieving energy efficiency without compromising life safety is to understand the hazards imposed on a certain refinery building and the mitigation measures required. This paper describes how a Vapor Cloud Explosion (VCE) differs from regular explosion and how selecting the right blast damper for the over-pressure and impulse of a specific blast will result in energy savings.