Companies have been selling refrigerators all over the world for household use and commercial use for over a century. It is one of the main appliances in a kitchen and also in many commercial establishments. Refrigerators are used in factories, offices, laboratories, hotels, restaurants and of course in households all over the world. There are different types of refrigerators that are used in household and commercial purposes. The refrigerator is one of the most common appliances and there are different types of refrigerators available in the market:

Types of Refrigerators

Refrigerators are used at home and in commercial purposes. Some of the common types of refrigerators include French door refrigerators, side by side refrigerators, bottom freezer refrigerators, top freezer refrigerators, freezer-less refrigerators, mini refrigerators, wine cooler refrigerators, and commercial refrigerators. There are many additional features in most modern refrigerators and buying the best refrigerator especially in India requires a lot of research.

Today many types of refrigerators include features like child lock, adjustable shelves, wheels, smart temperature control, smart technology, ice and water indoors, and energy efficiency. But the refrigerators work the same way as they did when they were first sold to households in the early years of the 20th century. Billions of people use basic refrigerators but many people do not know the basic working of a refrigerator. The following are details about how refrigerators work all over the world and its basic functions:

Basic Components of the Refrigerators

The Refrigerant

The refrigerant is the liquid that is used to cool the food that is kept in the refrigerator. As this refrigerant flows through the refrigerator in the evaporator coil it absorbs all the heat from the food inside. The refrigerant then passes through a compressor and becomes a high pressured hot gas. This refrigerant then flows through the condenser coils and releases the heat into the environment.

Expansion Valve

The thermal expansion valve controls the amount of refrigerant that is released into the evaporator. The amount of refrigerant that the expansion valve releases into the evaporator depends on the load in the refrigerator. Even more, when the food needs to be cooled, more refrigerant is released and the low refrigerant is released when there is low load.

Refrigerator Evaporator

The basic function of an evaporator in the refrigerator system is to convert the liquid into gas. The liquid refrigerant goes from the evaporator into the compressor. The refrigerant which captures the heat from the refrigerator then converts from liquid form into a gaseous form in the evaporator and then transfers in vapor form to the compressor.

Refrigerator Compressor

In simple terms, the low-pressure gas is released into the compressor from the evaporator and then converts it into a high-pressure gas. When the gas is compressed in the compressor, the temperature of the gas rises. This hot refrigerant gas after this processor flows into condensers. The best refrigerator or any refrigerating system has this component in them.

Condenser

The basic job of the condenser coils are to let the heat from the refrigerant out into the environment and cool the refrigerant converting it from the gaseous state back to the liquid state. Once the refrigerant is back into the liquid state the condenser passes the liquid into the expansion valve to reuse again and the entire process starts again.

The Entire Refrigeration Cycle in Short

People like to buy the best refrigerator from the best brand but the basic principle of the working of the refrigerator is the same. The refrigerant is released from the expansion valve as per the load in the refrigerator, this refrigerant then absorbs the heat from food as it passes through the evaporator and turns from liquid to gas. This gas is then turned into hot high-pressure gas in the compressor of the refrigerators and then enters the condenser coils.

In the condenser coils, the heat from the refrigerant is released into the atmosphere and the refrigerant converts back into its liquid form from the gaseous state. This liquid refrigerant then reenters the expansion valve and the entire process of cooling takes place again. This cycle is how food is kept cool or frozen in a refrigerator. The refrigerant is then reused into the cycle and so refrigerators do not need new refrigerant every time food needs to be cooled in the refrigerator.

The refrigeration cooling system was first researched in the 18th century and since then a lot of development has taken place in this field. Refrigerators that have new and modern technology which are energy efficient are constantly hitting the market. The basic refrigeration process as mentioned above is the same for most types of refrigerators systems and a majority of people who use the refrigerators do not know the basic functioning of the refrigerator. The refrigerator process of cooling food is simple and it is the most effective way to preserve food in households, restaurants, and hotels all over the world.