How a refrigerator works?

Refrigerator is found in almost everybody’s kitchen. It is used to store the leftover food instead of throwing it and helps to keep the things cold.

Air conditioning and refrigeration work on the same idea. It does not cool but removes the heat so that food could be kept for longer period. The gas is compressed in a compressor and turned to cold liquid which is then sent to different area in the refrigerator to remove heat. Same as if we pour liquid on our skin and when it evaporates we feel cool because the heat is removed from our body. The gas used in most of the refrigerators is Freon or any gas similar to it. It acts as the medium to carry the heat of material inside the refrigerator. The gas is known as refrigerant gas. Many industrial installation uses ammonia gas in its purest form as the refrigerant because it evaporates at -27 degree F. Ammonia is a highly toxic gas that is the reason why it is not used in the home refrigerators. If this gas leaks it can be harmful for life and may lead to death. Many refrigerators use CFC (chlorofluorocarbons) that is not toxic as the ammonia gas. Some industries still use ammonia. It was found that chlorofluorocarbon is harmful to ozone layer and after 1990’s many refrigerators use refrigerants which are not as harmful as CFC. The refrigerant keeps on collecting the heat from inside till it the refrigerant evaporates and reaches to the coil where the heat is dumped and again the gas is compressed to liquid and the cycle again starts.

refrigeratorMaintaining low temperature minimizes the activity of bacteria. It will spoil food if left outside at the room temperature. Cold temperature reduces the activity of bacteria and food will remain fresh for three to four days.

Refrigerator is divided into two sections one is fridge and the other is freezer. Both have different functions. Fridge is used for refrigeration and freezer for freezing. The parts involved in the whole process are compressor, condenser, valve and evaporator. The refrigerator box is highly insulated so that hot air from outside cannot enter inside and cold air cannot escape outside.

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