The Refrigeration Process
The Refrigeration Process Refrigeration has probably been around longer than you think. In 1823, Michael Faraday
discovered that certain gases under constant pressure will condense when they cool. In 1875,
Raoul Picet used sulfur dioxide as a refrigerant and in 1931 Refrigerant R-12 was developed by
Thomas Midgley and C. F. Kettering. The Kelvinator refrigeration unit, ice cream units, and
Semi-hermetic compressors were introduced at the beginning of the 20th century. In this day and
age, the refrigeration process hasn’t changed much, as it still uses the same refrigeration
laws that have been around since the discovery of the “ice box”.
Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from a place where it is not wanted and
transferring that heat to a place where it makes little or no difference. Heat flows naturally from
warm to cold. Heat flows into a refrigerated space when a sealed door is opened, thru insulated
walls and warm objects. All refrigeration units have a rating capacity. The term for this
capacity rating is the ton. One ton of refrigeration is the amount of heat that it is needed to melt
1-ton of ice in a given 24-hour period.
A refrigerator has to pump the heat out of its compartment into the warmer environment
outside. The heat from outside a house is also leaking inside therefore the refrigerator is
pumping heat out of its compartment 90 percent of the time. Opening the refrigerator numerous
times will decrease the efficiency of the unit. In the following paragraph I will explain how the
refrigeration process works using a window air-conditioning unit example.
I will use a hypothetical situation and play with various numbers but keep in mind that
the process and components are the same in all refrigeration units. The outside temperature is 95
degrees Fahrenheit while the inside temperature is about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The cooling coil
temperature
discovered that certain gases under constant pressure will condense when they cool. In 1875,
Raoul Picet used sulfur dioxide as a refrigerant and in 1931 Refrigerant R-12 was developed by
Thomas Midgley and C. F. Kettering. The Kelvinator refrigeration unit, ice cream units, and
Semi-hermetic compressors were introduced at the beginning of the 20th century. In this day and
age, the refrigeration process hasn’t changed much, as it still uses the same refrigeration
laws that have been around since the discovery of the “ice box”.
Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from a place where it is not wanted and
transferring that heat to a place where it makes little or no difference. Heat flows naturally from
warm to cold. Heat flows into a refrigerated space when a sealed door is opened, thru insulated
walls and warm objects. All refrigeration units have a rating capacity. The term for this
capacity rating is the ton. One ton of refrigeration is the amount of heat that it is needed to melt
1-ton of ice in a given 24-hour period.
A refrigerator has to pump the heat out of its compartment into the warmer environment
outside. The heat from outside a house is also leaking inside therefore the refrigerator is
pumping heat out of its compartment 90 percent of the time. Opening the refrigerator numerous
times will decrease the efficiency of the unit. In the following paragraph I will explain how the
refrigeration process works using a window air-conditioning unit example.
I will use a hypothetical situation and play with various numbers but keep in mind that
the process and components are the same in all refrigeration units. The outside temperature is 95
degrees Fahrenheit while the inside temperature is about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The cooling coil
temperature