The term refrigeration means cooling a space, substance or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one. In other words, refrigeration is artificial (human-made) cooling. Energy in the form of heat is removed from a low-temperature reservoir and transferred to a high-temperature reservoir. The work of energy transfer is traditionally driven by mechanical means, but can also be driven by heat, magnetism, electricity, laser, or other means. Refrigeration has many applications, including household refrigerators, industrial freezers, cryogenics, and air conditioning. Heat pumps may use the heat output of the refrigeration process, and also may be designed to be reversible, but are otherwise similar to air conditioning units.
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HVAC system design is a subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. "Refrigeration" is sometimes added to the field's abbreviation as HVAC&R or HVACR, or "ventilation" is dropped, as in HACR.
A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so that its inside is cooled to a temperature below the room temperature. Refrigeration is an essential food storage technique around the world. The lower temperature lowers the reproduction rate of bacteria, so the refrigerator reduces the rate of spoilage. A refrigerator maintains a temperature a few degrees above the freezing point of water. The optimal temperature range for perishable food storage is 3 to 5 °C. A similar device that maintains a temperature below the freezing point of water is called a freezer. The refrigerator replaced the icebox, which had been a common household appliance for almost a century and a half. The United States Food and Drug Administration recommends that the refrigerator be kept at or below 4 °C (40 °F) and that the freezer be regulated at −18 °C (0 °F).
An air handler, or air handling unit, is a device used to regulate and circulate air as part of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. An air handler is usually a large metal box containing a blower, heating or cooling elements, filter racks or chambers, sound attenuators, and dampers. Air handlers usually connect to a ductwork ventilation system that distributes the conditioned air through the building and returns it to the AHU. Sometimes AHUs discharge (supply) and admit (return) air directly to and from the space served without ductwork
An air source heat pump (ASHP) is a type of heat pump that can absorb heat from outside a structure and release it inside using the same vapor-compression refrigeration process and much the same equipment as air conditioners but used in the opposite direction. Unlike an air conditioning unit, most ASHPs are reversible and are able to either warm or cool buildings and in some cases also provide domestic hot water.
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat and controlling the humidity of air in an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment by use of powered "air conditioners" or a variety of other methods, including passive cooling and ventilative cooling. Air conditioning is a member of a family of systems and techniques that provide heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC).
Bradken is a manufacturer and supplier of differentiated consumable and capital products to the mining, transport, general industrial and contract manufacturing markets with operations in Australia, China, Canada, India, Malaysia and the United States. It is a subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery.
A direct exchange (DX) geothermal heat pump is a type of ground source heat pump in which refrigerant circulates through copper tubing placed in the ground unlike other ground source heat pumps where refrigerant is restricted to the heat pump itself with a secondary loop in the ground filled with a mixture of water and anti-freeze.
The EcoCute is an energy efficient electric heat pump, water heating and supply system that uses heat extracted from the air to heat water for domestic, industrial and commercial use. Instead of the more conventional ammonia or haloalkane gases, EcoCute uses supercritical carbon dioxide as a refrigerant. The technology offers a means of energy conservation and reduces the emission of greenhouse gas.
Trane Technologies Inc. is a manufacturer of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and building management systems and controls. The company was a subsidiary of Ingersoll Rand Inc. which was the successor company to the American Standard Companies. Trane Technologies is now an independent company listed on NASDAQ (TT). It makes products under the Trane Brand name.
Watsco, Inc. is the largest distributor of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies (HVAC/R) in the United States. Watsco was founded more than 60 years ago as a manufacturer of parts, components, and tools used in the HVAC/R industry. From 1973 to 1988 Watsco, under the leadership of its current CEO, Albert H. Nahmad, grew from US$5 million in revenues to US$25 million. In 1989, the company shifted its focus from manufacturing to distribution, by acquiring Gemaire Distributors Inc., a South Florida-based Rheem distributor. By 1997, Watsco added other OEMs to the mix, and moved into commercial refrigeration, as a result of the acquisition of Baker Distributing Company. Watsco divested its manufacturing business in 1998, selling it to International Comfort Products Corporation, now part of Carrier Corporation (Carrier). Revenues increased from US$64.1 million in 1989 to US$6.3 billion in 2021 via a strategy of acquiring companies with established market position, and subsequently building revenues and profit through a combination of adding locations, products, services, and other initiatives.
Daikin Applied Americas is a corporation that designs, manufacturers and sells heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) products, systems, parts and services for commercial buildings. Since 2006, McQuay has been a subsidiary of Daikin Industries, Ltd. McQuay world headquarters are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Products are sold by a global network of sales representatives and distributors.
Daikin Industries, Ltd. is a Japanese multinational air conditioning manufacturing company headquartered in Osaka. It has operations in Japan, China, Australia, the United States, India, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa.
SRF Limited is a multi-business chemicals conglomerate engaged in the manufacturing of industrial and specialty intermediates. The company’s business portfolio covers fluorochemicals, specialty chemicals, packaging films, technical textiles, coated and laminated fabrics. It has a workforce of close to 7,000 employees working across eleven manufacturing plants in India and one each in Thailand, South Africa and Hungary. The company exports to more than 75 countries.
Automobile air conditioning systems use air conditioning to cool the air in a vehicle.
Variable refrigerant flow (VRF), also known as variable refrigerant volume (VRV), is an HVAC technology invented by Daikin Industries, Ltd. in 1982. Like ductless minisplits, VRFs use refrigerant as the cooling and heating medium. This refrigerant is conditioned by one or more condensing units, and is circulated within the building to multiple indoor units. VRF systems, unlike conventional chiller-based systems, allow for varying degrees of cooling in more specific areas, may supply hot water in a heat recovery configuration without affecting efficiency, and switch to heating mode during winter without additional equipment, all of which may allow for reduced energy consumption. Also, air handlers and large ducts are not used which can reduce the height above a dropped ceiling as well as structural impact as VRF uses smaller penetrations for refrigerant pipes instead of ducts.
An inverter compressor is a gas compressor that is operated with an inverter.
Sullair is a major American manufacturer of portable and stationary rotary screw air compressors designed for commercial and industrial use. Founded in 1965 in the town of Michigan City, Indiana U.S.A., Sullair has manufacturing facilities in Michigan City that distribute and service air compressor packages and systems worldwide. Sullair also has manufacturing facilities in Suzhou, Jiangsu and Shenzhen, Guangdong China that service the Asian and Australasian markets. Sullair also has offices in Dandenong South, Australia near Melbourne, and in Sunderland, United Kingdom that services markets in the EMEA and Russia.
Airedale International Air Conditioning based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England is a British manufacturer and worldwide distributor of cooling, heating and HVAC systems.
Barbara Haviland Minor is an American chemical engineer who has worked at DuPont and Chemours. She develops new refrigerants to be used in air conditioning and refrigeration systems, in Europe, North America, Australia and other countries. As of 2018, 50% of all new vehicles produced by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are believed to use her refrigerant, HFO-1234yf, an important contribution to countering global warming.
