ASHRAE Journal - September 2019 - 42

ASHRAE - CELEBRATING 125 YEARS

disjointed, undercapitalized efforts. Mass production of
a low-cost, low-maintenance refrigerator was needed.
That challenge was soon met. Refrigeration engineers
introduced eccentric shaft, closed-crankcase reciprocating compressors, replacing open-frame crosshead or
crank types and allowing higher operating speeds and
smaller size. Leaky stufﬁng boxes were replaced with
rotary mechanical shaft seals that minimized leaks. By
the late 1920s, using improved electric motors, externally driven systems began to be replaced with hermetically sealed motor-compressors that reduced size,
weight and cost further, all but eliminating refrigerant
leaks. Effective methods of refrigerant control, such as
the constant superheat (thermostatic) expansion valve
and the capillary tube, were developed. Temperature
and pressure controls were applied to refrigerating systems, making them responsive to the vagaries of system
load that varied with room temperature, product load,
frequency of door opening and so on.
Until 1930, engineers had only toxic or ﬂammable
refrigerants to choose from for their systems. Sulfur
dioxide, methyl chloride, ethyl chloride or isobutane
were used in virtually all household systems until chloroﬂuorocarbon refrigerants (discussed next in this
article) were developed in 1928. The new refrigerant
family's use for household systems began in the 1930s
and accelerated the acceptance of the new technology.
But this new technology for the home required a considerable engineering effort and a great deal of money
to make it a reality. The advances previously mentioned
saw practical reality only after two industrial sectors
committed engineering talent and a great deal of capital. The two sectors were the automotive and electrical
industries in the United States.
As World War I was ending, two corporations, General
Motors and General Electric, began pursuing introduction of refrigeration into the home. GM was worried that
a post-war depression would cause auto sales to plunge
and sought to ﬁnd something else that dealers could sell.
GE had already begun expansion beyond electric lighting-into electrical items such as electric irons, toasters
and so on-and saw an electric refrigerator as a logical
addition to its "string of appliances."
Both corporations had large, diversiﬁed engineering
staffs as well as considerable ﬁnancial capital. Both were
willing to endure the unavoidable development failures
and the associated costs to ensure a successful product
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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 19

FIGURE 7 By the 1930s, household mechanical refrigerators were becoming an
important part of homes. (From: Good Housekeeping, May 1931).

that they assumed would later lead to a substantial market for their products as well as a decent proﬁt.3
The application of engineering and capital from these
two industrial giants, as well as others that joined them,
spawned a surge of technical development. And the
competition between many manufacturers resulted in
leap-frog technology, where one company's advance was
soon topped by another, better innovation. The result:
the increasingly reliable, energy-efﬁcient and affordable
mechanical refrigerator (Figure 7). The ice man is gone-
no longer needed-replaced by the "can't live without"
refrigerator, that, like the beneﬁts of automatic heating,
we just take for granted.

It All Depended on a Guinea Pig-The Chloroﬂuorocarbon
Refrigerants
At the dawn of the 20th century, the dominant refrigerant was ammonia. Why? Because for almost 40 years,
it had proven to be the best refrigerant to use-its attributes included a high refrigerating effect and low cost.
But it had some notable disadvantages too, such as toxicity. Since most refrigeration applications were industrial, any disadvantages were mitigated, or even tolerated, using technology that was well-developed by 1900.
After 1900, refrigeration took some new courses into

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ASHRAE Journal - September 2019

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