Household refrigerators and freezers

V.O. SALVADORI; R. H. MASCHERONI

Handbook of frozen food processing and packaging

Taylor and Francis

Lugar: London; Año: 2006; p. 259 - 277

Household refrigerators and freezers are intended for keeping small volumes of many different foods and drinks simultaneously at low temperatures, as can be found in any household. These items require diverse storage temperatures (and relative humidities in many cases) and have different storage lives. With the exception of air conditioning, domestic refrigeration systems are primarily used for food storage [1]. The use of these appliances by untrained people implies that their operation and maintenance must be very simple and, in fact, it is probable that their owners perform no maintenance at all over long-time periods. In addition, domestic refrigerators must withstand frequent use and provisions must be made for economical and effective servicing in case of malfunction or damage [2]. These features condition the design and operation of household refrigerators and freezers, which have little in common to those of commercial storage chambers and industrial freezers. The design of domestic refrigerators must also deal with the overall appearance of the appliance (size, shape, color, and surface finishing) and provide special-purpose storage compartments such as vegetable crispers, meat keepers, high-humidity compartments, and butter keepers. In many cases, modern refrigerators and freezers also include additional facilities such as automatic icemakers, crushers, and dispensers or chilled water and juice dispensers [2]. In addition, these apparatus must make use of nontoxic and nonflammable refrigerants; their operation must be as silent as possible and must comply with energy consumption regulations. Household refrigerators appeared with many of their distinctive characteristics at the beginning of the third decade in the 20th century and since then they have undergone continuous improvements parallel to those of other home appliances [3]. As outlined in this brief introduction, household refrigerators and freezers have many distinctive characteristics, and this chapter intends to provide information on their design, suitability for different products, operation, and performance.