How Does A Refrigerator Work?

In the summertime, have you ever gotten out of a

swimming pool and then felt very cold standing in the
sun? That's because the water on your skin is
evaporating. The air carries off the water vapor, and
with it some of the heat is being taken away from your
skin.

This is similar to what happens inside older

refrigerators. Instead of water, though, the refrigerator
uses chemicals to do the cooling.

There are two things that need to be known for

refrigeration.

1. A gas cools on expansion.

2. When you have two things that are different
temperatures that touch or are near each other,
the hotter surface cools and the colder surface
warms up. This is a law of physics called the
Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Old Refrigerators
If you look at the back or bottom of an older refrigerator, you'll see a long thin
tube that loops back and forth. This tube is connected to a pump, which is
powered by an electric motor.

Inside the tube is Freon, a type of gas. Freon is the brand name of the gas. This
gas, chemically is called Chloro-Flouro-Carbon or CFC. This gas was found to
hurt the environment if it leaks from refrigerators. So now, other chemicals are
used in a slightly different process (see next section below).

CFC starts out as a liquid. The pump pushes the CFC through a lot of coils in the
freezer area. There the chemical turns to a vapor. When it does, it soaks up
some of the heat that may be in the freezer compartment. As it does this, the
coils get colder and the freezer begins to get colder.

In the regular part of your refrigerator, there are fewer coils and a larger space.
So, less heat is soaked up by the coils and the CFC vapor.

The pump then sucks the CFC as a vapor and forces it through thinner pipes
which are on the outside of the refrigerator. By compressing it, the CFC turns
back into a liquid and heat is given off and is absorbed by the air around it.
That's why it might be a little warmer behind or under your refrigerator.

Once the CFC passes through the outside coils, the liquid is ready to go back
through the freezer and refrigerator over and over.
Today's Refrigerators
Modern refrigerators don't use CFC because CFCs are harmful to the
atmosphere if released. Instead they use another type of gas called HFC-134a,
also called tetrafluoroethane. HFC turns into a liquid when it is cooled to -15.9
degrees Fahrenheit (-26.6 degrees Celsius).

A motor and compressor squeezes the HFC. When it is compressed, a gas heats
up as it is pressurized. When you pass the compressed gas through the coils on
the back or bottom of a modern refrigerator, the warmer gas can lose its heat to
the air in the room.

Remember the law of thermodynamics.

As it cools, the HFC can change into a liquid because it is under a high pressure.

The liquid flows through what's called an expansion valve, a tiny small hole that
the liquid has to squeeze through. Between the valve and the compressor, there
is a low-pressure area because the compressor is pulling the ammonia gas out
of that side.

When the liquid HFC hits a low pressure area it boils and changes into a gas.
This is called vaporizing.

The coils then go through the freezer and regular part of the refrigerator where
the colder liquid in the coil pulls the heat out of the compartments. This makes
the inside of the freezer and entire refrigerator cold.

The compressor sucks up the cold gas, and the gas goes back through the same
process over and over.

How Does the Temperature Stay the Same Inside?

A device called a thermocouple (it's basically a thermometer) can sense when
the temperature in the refrigerator is as cold as you want it to be. When it
reaches that temperature, the device shuts off the electricity to the compressor.

But the refrigerator is not completely sealed. There are places, like around the
doors and where the pipes go through, that can leak a little bit.

So when the cold from inside the refrigerator starts to leak out and the heat
leaks in, the thermocouple turns the compressor back on to cool the refrigerator
off again.

That's why you'll hear your refrigerator compressor motor coming on, running
for a little while and then turning itself off.

Today's refrigerators, however, are very energy efficient. Ones sold today use
about one-tenth the amount of electricity of ones that were built 20 years ago.
 So, if you have an old, old refrigerator, it's better to buy a new one because
you'll save money (and energy) over a long period of time.

How Does a Refrigerator Work?

In the refrigeration cycle, there are five basic components: fluid refrigerant; a
compressor, which controls the flow of refrigerant; the condenser coils (on the outside of
the fridge); the evaporator coils (on the inside of the fridge); and something called an
expansion device. Here’s how they interact to cool your food.
By Nicole Sforza

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Kate Francis/Brown Bird Design

1. The compressor constricts the refrigerant vapor, raising its pressure, and pushes it into the coils
on the outside of the refrigerator.

2. When the hot gas in the coils meets the cooler air temperature of the kitchen, it becomes a
liquid.

3. Now in liquid form at high pressure, the refrigerant cools down as it flows into the coils inside
the freezer and the fridge.

4. The refrigerant absorbs the heat inside the fridge, cooling down the air.
 5. Last, the refrigerant evaporates to a gas, then flows back to the compressor, where the cycle
starts all over.

1. How Freezers Work Appliancesconnection.com

2. Steps followed by freezers work ● A freezer works by drawing the heat out of the freezer
compartment. ● ● To start the process, the refrigerant-in gas form-goes into the compressor
where the compression process causes it to get very hot. The temperature of the mist is around -
27 degrees at this point, and it takes the heat from the freezer compartment with it.
Appliancesconnection.com

3. How it Works Appliancesconnection.com

4. Modern Freezers Freezers To get an idea of how it works, picture a river as it winds through the
mountains and countryside en route to the ocean. Refrigerator Refrigerant flows and transforms
from liquid to gas and back in a similar way. Appliancesconnection.com

5. ● ● Some of the most commonly used refrigerants are HFCs.Other refrigerants, such as CFCs
and HCFCs are highly regulated and banned from use in many products in the United States.
The first freezer component it enters is the compressor (usually found in the lower back of the
freezer). The compressor squeezes the vapor's particles, which heats it up and converts it into a
high-pressure state. Appliancesconnection.com

6. The Basic Components of a Freezer The components of a freezer are as follows: ● ● ● ● ● A

compressor A condenser An evaporator A capillary tube A thermostat Appliancesconnection.com

7. 1) Compressor The compression process makes this low pressure refrigerant a hot, high
pressure gas. 2) Condenser The fins conduct this heat away from the coils. The capillary tube
regulates the pressure of the refrigerant as it enters the coils. Appliancesconnection.com

8. 3) Evaporator A cold, low pressure gas is then produced when the liquid refrigerant expands,
boils, and evaporates into the evaporator coils. 4) Thermostat The thermostat tells the
compressor when to be on by supplying electricity to the compressor. Appliancesconnection.com

9. Development of the Modern Freezer Appliancesconnection.com

10. How it works Appliancesconnection.com

11. Important Points Of Freezers ● ● ● ● The refrigerant begins the cooling process as a vapor
under low pressure. The compressor squeezes the vapor's particles, which heats it up and
converts it into a high-pressure state. As the vapor travels through the condenser coils, it loses
the heat but retains its high pressure. Vapor compression isn't the only way to create a super-
cold food storage environment. Appliancesconnection.com

12. Freezers temperature ● Bacteria are usually the cause of food decay, but they can't grow as well
or at all in freezing temperatures, which are at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) or
lower. ● Food spoils more slowly if you lower the liquid inside it - the water molecules -- to
freezing temperatures. Appliancesconnection.com

13. Types of Freezers There are two principal types of freezer : 1) Chest Freezers (sometimes called
dive-in) 2) Upright Freezers (sometimes called reach-in) Appliancesconnection.com

14. Chest Freezers Chest freezer is that it is difficult to get to food stored at the bottom of the freezer.
Always buy a chest freezer which has baskets that hang from the top. Most units are manual
 defrost High energy efficiency Lift-out drawers for easier organization. Range in size from 5.0 cu.
ft. to 25.0 cu. ft. Appliancesconnection.com

15. Upright Freezers Upright freezers open like a refrigerator and include a variety of shelves and
storage drawers. Units vary in size and offer a wide range of capacities. Take up less floor space
for easier placement. Lighted interior enables you to see and organize food more easily. Range
in size from 5.0 cu. ft. to 21.0 cu. ft. Appliancesconnection.com

16. Buying a New Freezer Appliancesconnection.com

17. ● Depending on what your budget and needs are, today's freezers have all kinds of
technologically advanced bells and whistles. ● In which features you select, your new unit could
cost anywhere from $500 to $4,000 or even more. Appliancesconnection.com

18. Features you might look for when 1) Digital external temperature regulator:
considering your next freezer purchase: It keeps you from having to reach into the back of a cold
freezer to twist an icy knob that's frozen in place. 2) Automatic ice-makers: Icemakers in the door
that you access externally will make your freezer last longer because that's one fewer time you
don't have to reach inside and risk wear to the rubber seal. Appliancesconnection.com

19. 3) Cold water filter: You get fresh, chilled water dispensed from the freezer door. 4) Cooling zone
compartment: Available in some freezer combos is a hidden tube routing super-cold freezer air to
a space in the fridge designed for storing items that perish quickly, such as milk. 5) Automatic
defrost: We talked about earlier, this should prolong the life of your freezer so you won't have to
go freezer shopping again anytime soon. Appliancesconnection.com

20. Get deals the highest quality freezers from the top to Bottom Freezer Refrigerators for more visit
at www.appliancesconnection.com/ Appliancesconnection.com