Refrigerator

A refrigerator is an appliance that keeps food and other goods cold by moving heat out of an insulated cabinet. It developed gradually in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries from commercial cooling machines, and the sources reviewed for this entry do not credit any single person with inventing it. Household refrigerators became common only after World War II.

History of the refrigerator

Before mechanical cooling, households relied on the icebox, which held a block of natural ice. People bought small amounts of fresh food several times a week, and milk, eggs and meat were usually delivered to the door every few days.

In the late 1800s the first mechanical refrigerators appeared in businesses such as restaurants and grocery stores. According to the Engineering and Technology History Wiki (ETHW), these machines used compressed ammonia or other gases to freeze water into ice without relying on nature. At first they were driven by steam engines, and later by electric motors.

Scaled-down versions became available for home use around 1913. In 1928 the Frigidaire company patented a new refrigerant, a non-toxic, non-flammable chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) sold under the trade name Freon.

Production grew quickly. ETHW reports that only 5,000 units were made in 1921, and that within about a decade the number in the United States had passed 6 million. Sales then dropped because of the Great Depression, and factories turned to weapons during World War II. Few homes also had wiring good enough to run an electric refrigerator, so universal use came only with the post-1945 suburban housing boom.

Inventor and origins of the refrigerator

The refrigerator does not have a single inventor. The first practical machines were commercial, and the household version grew out of them as manufacturers made them smaller, cheaper and safer. Credit therefore depends on what is counted: the cooling machine for businesses, the first home unit, or the refrigerant that made home use safe.

Frigidaire is one company named in the record for its 1928 refrigerant patent. ETHW does not credit a single person for the refrigerator as a whole, and this entry follows that approach rather than naming an individual.

How a refrigerator works

The key to refrigeration is that a liquid takes heat from its surroundings as it evaporates. A wet finger feels cold in a breeze for the same reason. A refrigerator uses a special refrigerant liquid that evaporates at a very low temperature.

The refrigerant circulates through a sealed network of tubes. A motor-driven compressor pumps it from the condenser, which is usually underneath or at the back, to the evaporator inside the cabinet. In the larger space of the evaporator the refrigerant expands and evaporates, drawing heat from the food compartment and making it cool.

The gas then returns under pressure to the condenser, where it becomes a liquid again and gives up the heat it collected, usually into the room air with the help of a fan. A thermostat switches the motor off when the cabinet is cold enough, and the cycle starts again when it warms up. The same cycle of evaporation and condensation is used in a heat pump, and it follows the rules of thermodynamics, which describe how heat moves.

Types of refrigerators

Most refrigerators use the compressor system described above. ETHW notes two alternatives. From the 1930s to the late 1950s a gas refrigerator offered a motorless option, in which a tiny flame of propane, natural gas, kerosene or another fuel heated the refrigerant and drove it through the system. In the 1980s refrigerators appeared that needed no refrigerant at all and used the Peltier effect, in which a special electronic device gets cold when a current passes through it. ETHW adds that neither alternative is often used today.

The ENERGY STAR program, a US government-backed efficiency label, also distinguishes refrigerators from coolers, which include wine coolers and beverage centers in built-in and compact models.

Impact of the refrigerator

Refrigerators changed how people shop and eat. Before the 1940s fewer people needed one because they lived near small groceries and bought food often. After World War II millions moved to the suburbs, and corner groceries gave way to supermarkets.

People began to buy larger quantities of perishable food less often. The refrigerator made it possible to keep fresh food for much longer, so a household could buy a gallon of milk instead of a quart. This is one way mechanical cooling extended the reach of food preservation.

Because food could now be stored at home for longer, shopping habits shifted toward larger, less frequent trips to the supermarket, and fresh milk, eggs and meat no longer had to be delivered every few days.

The technology also had an environmental cost. CFC refrigerators like Freon were used until the 1980s, when the chemicals were found to harm the environment. The Montreal Protocol, signed in 1987 and in force since 1989, phases out production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. Its Kigali Amendment later called for a phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons, the replacement refrigerants that are potent greenhouse gases. Refrigerators now use other refrigerants.

Uses and efficiency today

The refrigerator is now a standard household appliance and is also used in shops, restaurants, laboratories and medical facilities.

Energy use is a major concern because the appliance operates around the clock in nearly every household that owns one. ENERGY STAR reports that certified refrigerators are about 9 percent more energy efficient than models that meet the federal minimum standard. It also states that, on average, an old refrigerator uses about 20 percent more energy than a model that has earned the label, and that replacing and recycling an old unit can save about $150 over a 12-year lifetime.

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 4, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue