Before the development of artificial refrigeration, humans have known to use natural ice and snow to maintain low temperature conditions in simple equipment, that is, to use natural cold sources. In China, natural ice has been used to preserve food about 3,000 years ago, and the Book of Songs in the seventh century BC contains verses about collecting, storing, and refrigerating food with natural ice. Until modern times, people still use natural cold sources such as ice, snow and groundwater. The refrigerating device cooled with natural ice or artificial ice can only reach a limited low temperature, and the technical and hygienic conditions are poor, making it difficult to meet various requirements. Modern refrigeration equipment uses refrigerators to cool.
In 1834, J. Perkins of the United States successfully trial-produced a human-operated refrigerator that could work continuously with ether as the working medium. In 1844, J. Gorey in the United States trial-produced a refrigerator using air as the working medium, which was used to make ice and cool air in hospitals. From 1872 to 1874, D. Bell and C. von Linde invented ammonia compressors in the United States and Germany respectively, and made ammonia vapor compression refrigerators, which was the origin of modern compression refrigerators. In the 1850s, the Carré brothers in France successively developed absorption refrigerators and ammonia absorption refrigerators using sulfuric acid and water as working fluids. In 1910, the steam jet refrigerator appeared. Freon refrigerant appeared in 1930, which promoted the rapid development of compression refrigerators. In 1945, the United States successfully developed a silver bromide absorption refrigerator.