An introduction to refrigerators

From keeping our vegetables fresh to storing our favorite ice creams and juices, refrigerators have become essential to modern life.

The first refrigerators, so to speak, were built as ice houses. These buildings consisted of man-made underground chambers, which were built near natural sources of winter ice, such as freshwater lakes. During the winter, this ice and snow was packed into the ice house along with straw or sawdust that was used as insulation. The ice house kept the ice intact for several months, even during the summer.

Many countries claim to be the home of the refrigerator. Over the years, refrigerator technology has evolved by leaps and bounds. One of the first home refrigeration units was installed on the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina around 1895. That same year, Vestey Brothers opened the first commercial refrigeration unit in London.

Modern refrigerators run primarily on electrical power, although some of the older models use gas as their power source. Today, a domestic refrigerator is present in 99.5% of American homes. It works by means of phase change heat pumps that work in a refrigeration cycle. An industrial refrigerator is simply a refrigerator that is used in an industrial setting, typically in a restaurant or supermarket where large quantities of food are stored. They can consist of a refrigerator compartment (a larger refrigerator), a freezer compartment (a freezer), or both. The dual compartment was commercially introduced by General Electric in 1939. Some refrigerators are now divided into four zones for storage of different types of food at different temperatures.

Refrigerators have become an essential part of our daily lives. They have taken their place in almost all areas of life, from homes and restaurants to offices and airports. It is now considered a support system in the home, without which a daily visit to the grocery store would be unavoidable.