How a Refrigerator Works

It doesn’t matter how far refrigeration has advanced these days, all refrigerators universally work by utilizing identical technologies that have been tried-and-tested through the years. Here’s a short explanation of how a refrigerator works.

Refrigeration is a process run by five major components: the fluid refrigerant, a compressor, condenser coils, evaporator coils, and an expansion device. The fluid refrigerant is the so-called blood of the appliance as all cooling begins with it; which is controlled by the compressor and the coils.

The refrigerant moves throughout the condenser coils with aid from the compressor, which moves the fluid from thin capillary tubes into larger ones. As this happens, the refrigerant begins to boil at a lower temperature, increasing its ability to absorb warm air; inside the freezer, a fan runs air over the tubing containing the refrigerant, which absorbs the heat from the warmer air. This produces the cold temperature, and is highly reminiscent of the inner workings of an air conditioner – the liquid refrigerant boils and evaporates into gas, absorbs heat, then condensed back into liquid again. It’s basically a never-ending process.

All refrigerators work by utilizing the simple properties of evaporation and condensation, whether it is made by a world-renowned brand like Amana or other lesser-known company. Sure, there are a few advancements here and there that improve the machines’ efficiency, but all of them work on the same core principles.