What is a freezer? How many types are there? Which type should I buy?

Freezers are one of the most commonly used appliances today to store food. So what is a freezer? How many types are there and which one should I buy? The article below will answer for you!

What is a freezer?

A freezer is a cold storage device consisting of an insulated chamber and a heat pump system that transports temperature from inside the chamber to the outside environment.

Freezers provide cold temperatures below -18 degrees Celsius . At this temperature, bacteria cannot grow, so the freezer can preserve food for a long time without loss of quality.

Working principle :

Like other common refrigeration equipment, freezers operate on a principle of compressing liquefied refrigerant gas (refrigerant). Refrigerated gas is in the gaseous state when compressed by the engine under high pressure, will change to a liquid state and give off heat.

The heat released is dissipated into the surrounding environment through the outdoor unit. When the pressure is reduced, the gases in the liquid state change to the gaseous state and the surrounding heat absorption occurs at the indoor unit inside the freezer.

Structure

• Compressor (engine, block or compressor block) :

The compressor is the core part of the freezer with the function of compressing the refrigerant gas (refrigerant) at high pressure to make the refrigerant gas liquefy.

This process will generate heat and the liquefied refrigerant gas will become very hot. This liquefied refrigerant gas is led through the condenser which is a part so that the temperature from the refrigerant gas is radiated to the outside environment.

Commonly used compressors are rotor compressors or 1- or 2-cylinder reciprocating compressors. Most compressors used in residential freezers are 1-cylinder piston type machines .

• Hot and cold unit

– Outdoor unit – the part that radiates heat to the environment outside the cabinet:

Where the refrigerant gas liquefies under the high pressure of the compressor pump, giving off heat to the environment. Heat from the liquefied refrigerant gas is transferred to the radiators and dissipated to the outside environment. After passing through the outdoor unit, the liquid refrigerant gas temperature drops to near the ambient temperature.

– Indoor unit – heat collector inside the cabinet:

The indoor unit is where the liquefied refrigerant gas from the outdoor unit passes through the throttle system and is led to evaporate. Here, the liquid refrigerant gas will no longer be compressed and will evaporate quickly. During this evaporation process, the gas will absorb heat. This cools the space inside the freezer compartment.

• Cold gas:

Popular refrigerants on the market: Currently, the most popular refrigerants on the market are refrigerant gas R134a, and R600a. In addition, there are other grades such as R22 and R410a.

• Insulation system, insulation, door

– Insulation system:

The insulation system helps to minimize heat exchange between the inside and outside of the freezer. From there, this system creates a high temperature around the environment that does not transfer to the inside of the cold chamber.

The insulation layer is usually glass wool combined with polyurethane .

– Freezer door:

Freezers have doors that open to the front . Meanwhile, the freezer has a suitcase-style opening . Around the wing there is a system of insulation teeth .

Vertical freezers are less energy efficient than upright freezers. Every time the vertical freezer door opens, all the cold air in the refrigerator escapes and sinks to the floor. Freezers will have to work harder to compensate for the loss of cold air each time the door is opened.

Types of popular freezers on the market today

According to shape, structure

Residential freezer

– Horizontal Freezers : Freezers can be 1 or 2 drawers, with removable hanging baskets. This design helps the upright freezer have more usable space and be used more flexibly than the vertical freezer.

Advantage:

• The actual food storage area is larger than a vertical freezer with the same usable capacity.
• Flexible in use compared to true cabinets because different sizes of food can be placed.
• The price is cheaper than the standing freezer with the same used capacity.

Defect:

• Takes up installation space of the floor or kitchen.
• Difficulty organizing and retrieving items at the bottom.

Freezers come in different types such as:

3-wing type : 3-wing freezer is usually a large-capacity freezer line, 3-wing design with 1 wide and transparent freezer compartment. This type of cabinet is often used for restaurants, hotels, and food processing facilities.

Type 2 freezer compartment : A line of freezers with 2 freezer compartments composed of 2 compartments, including a freezer compartment with a temperature below minus 18 degrees Celsius and a cooler compartment with a temperature of 0-10 degrees Celsius. Each compartment has wings. Open separately and have sliding glass doors above.

Type 1 freezer: Freezer with 1 freezer only has a freezer compartment with a cold temperature below minus 18 degrees Celsius, for the purpose of preserving frozen food and items. Cabinets can have 1 or more opening doors.

Mini freezer (1 wing) : A family mini freezer is a small cabinet with a capacity of about 100 liters to 250 liters commonly used in households.

Glass top freezer : This series of freezers has curved or flat tempered glass sides. Integrated glass drying system ensures the glass surface does not freeze or dew.

This type of cabinet meets the needs of stores or supermarkets that both preserve and display products.

– Freezers stand: Freezers have the same design as regular refrigerators, with doors opening in the front. The cabinet is divided into several floors, each floor is a separate compartment.

Advantage:

• Compact design, high aesthetics.
• Opening the front door helps to take up less floor or kitchen space.
• Separate compartments make it easy to separate each type of food, easy to manipulate.

Defect:

• Not as flexible as a walk-in freezer because the volume and weight of the food placed in the freezer is limited by the size of the separate compartments.

Industrial freezer:

Industrial freezer is a type of large capacity refrigerator, with temperature from -21 degrees Celsius to -12 degrees Celsius , with automatic control mode and fan cooling. This type of refrigerator can store food for a much longer time than conventional refrigerators.

Industrial freezers are often used in large restaurants and hotels.

Advantage:

• The refrigerator has a large cooling capacity, fast and efficient cooling.
• Store food for longer periods of time.

Defect:

• Because of the large capacity, it consumes more power to operate.
• Cabinets are expensive.

According to refrigeration technology

Regular freezer

Freezers are usually freezers that use a conventional compressor for cooling. This type of refrigerator is quite popular on the market with a more affordable price, however, the power consumption is quite large.

Advantage:

• Low cost, easy to own.
• The cooling performance is quite stable.

Defect:

• The cabinet is less energy efficient.
• Lifespan is less than that of inverter freezers.

Inverter freezer

Inverter freezer is a type of freezer that is applied with inverter technology, using an inverter compressor to save maximum energy compared to normal compressors.

Advantage:

• Using copper indoor unit, capable of cooling very quickly, good cold transmission
• Save about 30 – 50% power consumption.
• Smooth operation, high durability.

Defect:

• The cost is higher than the conventional freezer.

Above is the article that introduces you to what is a freezer? How many types are there? Which type should I buy? Hopefully from the above advice, you can choose to buy yourself the right freezer!