In today’s day and age, refrigerators are a part of our everyday life. Whether we’re storing fresh ingredients, snacks or leftovers, they play an essential role in the way we store and eat our food; but how long have they actually been around, and how would people store their food before the fridge was invented?
Read our blog to learn more about the history of refrigerators.
The First Refrigerator
Before the fridge was invented, people would have to store their food in places that were naturally cooler, be that a cave or a stream, evolving to then being placed in cellars and clay containers. There was then the use of ice boxes, which referred to an insulated wooden crate that contained ice to keep foods cold, and ice chests, which used three separate boxes (the top filled with ice, the middle with food and the bottom tray to catch the water as the ice melted) in a similar method.
It wasn’t until 1834 when the first refrigerator was built by Jacob Perkins, which used a vapour compression system. Following this, in 1876 Carl von Linden, a German engineer, then went on to patent a new process of liquefying gas, which became the basis of the refrigeration technology that we see today. As for the first home electric refrigerator, this wasn’t invented until slightly later in 1913, by Fred W. Wolf.
The Modern Refrigerator
Following the invention of the first home electric refrigerator, fridges started to become mass produced only five years later, going on to become widespread in homes by the 1940s. These refrigerators mainly operated using a coolant (primarily Freon), though nowadays an alternative refrigerant (HFO-1234yf) is used, and there are even some fridges that operate using thermoelectric cooling, which require no refrigerant at all.
Of course, we now have a range of refrigerators available both for domestic and commercial use, including:
- Fridges with top boxes for ice
- Fridge-freezers (including those with freezer drawers, though these are more common in America)
- Fridges with water dispensers
- Fridges with double doors
- Commercial display fridges
- Walk in freezers and cold rooms
The Future Refrigerator
Now that you know a bit more about the evolution of refrigerators, what could the future of fridges look like as they continue to evolve?
With technology ever evolving, it’s highly likely that we’ll start to see ‘smart fridges’ become a thing of the future – essentially it would be a fridge that also connects to the internet. This could include numerous technological features, such as keeping track of the items in your fridge and their expiry dates, automatically adding items onto your shopping list when they run low or even suggesting recipes based on the ingredients you have available using an interactive touchscreen, among many other things.
Refrigeration Services
Is your commercial fridge in need of maintenance or repair? Worry not – we’ve got you covered here at Mitchell’s.
Our fully qualified engineers offer ongoing maintenance and support to keep your commercial cooling units in working order. We also offer refrigeration systems if you’re looking to upgrade your current one, complete with professional design and installation to best suit your requirements.
Get in touch with us today for more information.