The first cooling systems for food involved ice. Artificial refrigeration began in the mid-1750s, and developed in the early 1800s. In refrigerator brands to avoid 2020, the first working vapor-compression refrigeration system was built. The first commercial ice-making machine was invented in 1854.

In 1913, refrigerators for home use were invented. In 1923 Frigidaire introduced the first self-contained unit. Freezer units are used in households as well as in industry and commerce. Commercial refrigerator and freezer units were in use for almost 40 years prior to the common home models. The freezer-over-refrigerator style had been the basic style since the 1940s, until modern, side-by-side refrigerators broke the trend. Domestic refrigerators and freezers for food storage are made in a range of sizes. Among the smallest are Peltier-type refrigerators designed to chill beverages.

Refrigerators and freezers may be free-standing, or built into a kitchen. The refrigerator allows the modern household to keep food fresh for longer than before. In modern times, before the invention of the modern electric refrigerator, icehouses and iceboxes were used to provide cool storage for most of the year. Placed near freshwater lakes or packed with snow and ice during the winter, they were once very common. Natural means are still used to cool foods today. The history of artificial refrigeration began when Scottish professor William Cullen designed a small refrigerating machine in 1755.

In 1805, American inventor Oliver Evans described a closed vapor-compression refrigeration cycle for the production of ice by ether under vacuum. The first practical vapor compression refrigeration system was built by James Harrison, a Scottish Australian. His 1856 patent was for a vapor compression system using ether, alcohol or ammonia. Ferdinand Carré of France in 1859 and patented in 1860. Carl von Linde, an engineering professor at the Technological University Munich in Germany, patented an improved method of liquefying gases in 1876. Its electric compressors were manufactured by the Ganz Works.

Commercial refrigerator and freezer units, which go by many other names, were in use for almost 40 years prior to the common home models. A common commercial refrigerator is the glass fronted beverage cooler. These type of appliances are typically designed for specific re-load conditions meaning that they generally have a larger cooling system. This ensures that they are able to cope with a large throughput of drinks and frequent door opening. In 1913, the first electric refrigerators for home and domestic use were invented and produced by Fred W. Wolf of Fort Wayne, Indiana, with models consisting of a unit that was mounted on top of an ice box. These home units usually required the installation of the mechanical parts, motor and compressor, in the basement or an adjacent room while the cold box was located in the kitchen.

There was a 1922 model that consisted of a wooden cold box, water-cooled compressor, an ice cube tray and a 0. The first refrigerator to see widespread use was the General Electric “Monitor-Top” refrigerator introduced in 1927, so-called, by the public, because of its resemblance to the gun turret on the ironclad warship USS Monitor of the 1860s. The compressor assembly, which emitted a great deal of heat, was placed above the cabinet, and enclosed by a decorative ring. The introduction of Freon in the 1920s expanded the refrigerator market during the 1930s and provided a safer, low-toxicity alternative to previously used refrigerants.

In the early 1950s most refrigerators were white, but from the mid-1950s to the present day, designers and manufacturers have put color onto refrigerators. Freezer units are used in households and in industry and commerce. Frozen foods, previously a luxury item, became commonplace. In 1955 the domestic deep freezer, which was cold enough to allow the owners to freeze fresh food themselves rather than buying food already frozen with Clarence Birdseye’s process, went on sale. In this cycle, a circulating refrigerant such as R134a enters a compressor as low-pressure vapor at or slightly below the temperature of the refrigerator interior. The vapor is compressed and exits the compressor as high-pressure superheated vapor. Modern domestic refrigerators are extremely reliable because motor and compressor are integrated within a welded container, “sealed unit”, with greatly reduced likelihood of leakage or contamination.

By comparison, externally-coupled refrigeration compressors, such as those in automobile air conditioning, inevitably leak fluid and lubricant past the shaft seals. This leads to a requirement for periodic recharging and, if ignored, possible compressor failure. Refrigerators with two compartments need special design to control the cooling of refrigerator or freezer compartments. Typically, the compressors and condenser coils are mounted at the top of the cabinet, with a single fan to cool them both. This arrangement has a few downsides: each compartment cannot be controlled independently and the more humid refrigerator air is mixed with the dry freezer air. Multiple manufacturers offer dual compressor models. These models have separate freezer and refrigerator compartments that operate independently of each other, sometimes mounted within a single cabinet.

Each has its own separate compressor, condenser and evaporator coils, insulation, thermostat, and door. A hybrid between the two designs is using a separate fan for each compartment, the Dual Fan approach. Doing so allows for separate control and airflow on a single compressor system. These large systems are used to chill a brine solution that is circulated through the building.