First published: 17/12/2022
One of the editors of the NRC science editorial team came across a remarkable observation while looking for a new freezer. Most freezers do not work or work very poorly when the ambient temperature drops below 10°C.
Table of contents
Strange observation
Strange for a device that actually achieves a temperature below zero inside. If you put the freezer in a poorly insulated shed, you run the risk of everything inside thawing in the winter.
Why does a cooling device need a relatively warm environment to function? We investigated.
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Gas formation
Two things are important here. The first has to do with the way a freezer cools. Refrigerators and freezers cool by a coolant that flows into the appliance via pipes, extracts heat there, flows outside and releases the heat there again.
It is possible to extract heat from the relatively cold interior and release it to the warm exterior because a coolant is converted from liquid to gas and back during this process.
When gaseous vapour condenses into a liquid, heat is released. And when a liquid evaporates, it extracts heat from the environment. You also experience this when you use disinfectant with alcohol. When it evaporates from the skin, it feels cold.
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Pressure difference
In a refrigeration appliance, a compressed liquid coolant is injected into the so-called evaporator. There the pressure is reduced, causing the coolant to evaporate and extract heat from the inside of the appliance.
The evaporated coolant is then sucked back from the freezer into the compressor where it is compressed under pressure. It then loses heat by condensing into liquid in the so-called condenser at the back of the appliance.
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Ambient temperature
When the ambient temperature drops, the pressure at the condenser on the outside drops. Below 10°C, the difference in pressure between the evaporator and condenser is not enough to keep the coolant circulating, causing the refrigerator or freezer to stop working.
This applies to modern coolers that work with the coolant methylpropane (trade name R600a), for example. By adjusting the technical setting or using another coolant, manufacturers can adjust the temperature range a little, but there are also limitations to this.
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Climate class
Each freezer is classified into a climate class that indicates the temperature range at which the manufacturer guarantees that the appliance will continue to function properly. These climate classes are internationally standardized.
The lowest, subnormal (SN) class must be suitable for use in ambient temperatures of +10°C to +32°C and the highest, tropical (T) for +16°C to +43°C. That is why you will find 10°C or 16°C as a lower limit for almost all refrigerators and freezers.
The problems that occur below 10°C also have to do with condensation, such as you see on car windows when it is cold outside. That condensed water can cause problems for the freezer, especially for the electronics and the casing.
There are freezers that continue to work at an ambient temperature of 5°C or even -15°C. But there is no climate class for that yet. The question is whether it is not more energy-efficient to turn your freezer off and open it at that temperature.
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Buy a freezer
If you want to store food for a long period of time, freezing is the best method.
Freezers for the catering industry you have in different versions. They have in common that they have a large capacity. There are high and low versions.
Some units have a single door, while others have 2 or even 4 doors. A matter of taste and space.
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