The Coolest Day of the Year? 26 June 2023 World Refrigeration Day

Were you aware that 26 June 2023 is World Refrigeration Day @worldrefday, #WorldRefrigerationDay, #NextGenCooling?

World Refrigeration Day was an idea developed by Stephen Gill, a refrigeration consultant and the former president of the Institute of Refrigeration in the UK. Held annually for the first time on 26 June 2019, more than 800 events took place across 153 countries with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps and their significance and impact on our everyday lives. The 26 June was chosen as it is the birth day of Lord Kelvin, a British mathematician and engineer known for determining the coldest possible temperature possible (absolute zero) as approximately −273.15°C or −459.67°F.

Since its introduction, World Refrigeration Day has been supported by a number of institutions including The Institute of Refrigeration, The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Register of Companies Competent to Manage Refrigerants (REFCOM), the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), the European Partnership for Energy and Environment (EPEE), the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) and the Global Food Cold Chain Council (GFCCC).

World Refrigeration Day Themes

Since launching in 2019 World Refrigeration Day has focussed on a different theme each year.

In its first year, 2019, the theme centred around diversity of technology, science, solutions, innovation, application and people. It was a chance to celebrate the technologies involved in refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps.

In 2020 the theme “Cold Chain 4 Life” looked to the importance of the refrigerated cold chain in food safety and security and human health. From food to medicines and vaccines to blood etc. refrigeration plays a vital role.

In 2021 with a title of “Cooling Champions: Cool Careers for a Better World”, the focus turned to careers in the refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pumps industry with the goal of inspiring students and professionals to come into the refrigeration industry to tackle the need for new technologies and provide innovation to move the refrigeration sector forward.

In 2022 the theme “Cooling Matters“, focussed on cooling and raising awareness of the benefits and impacts of cooling. Stephen Gill, in promoting World Refrigeration Day 2022 said “However you look at it, cooling matters! Cooling is at the very heart of modern life. It enables people to live and work comfortably, it saves lives, it enables people to achieve. The need for cooling is everywhere, it touches lives in fantastic though often unnoticed ways.”

Mr Gill went onto suggest that “cooling technology choices can safeguard the well-being of future generations.” This was further emphasised by Rajan Rajendran who explained “How RAC systems are maintained and operated is one of the most important actions the world can take to address climate change.” Ayman Eltalouny, representing UNEP OzonAction said “Moving to best available cooling technologies would reduce cumulative emissions by 38 gigatons of CO₂ emissions by 2030. This would avoid future greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 2018 levels.”

2023 – Next Generation Cooling #NextGenCooling

This year’s theme is “Next Generation Cooling” and is being hosted by the Institute of Refrigeration (IOR) through a series of online webinars and programs including the importance and efficiency improvements possible through the cleaning, servicing and maintenance [of dirty coils and condensers]; learning from the achievements of the past, focussing on William Rankine; looking at the impact of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) on the cooling sector and the search for the next generation, and finishing by discussing the value of apprenticeships.

The 2023 theme aims to build upon last year’s theme with the purpose of raising awareness of how the cooling industry is evolving and looking to the future to meet the challenges being faced with regards to climate change and the need for low carbon cooling solutions with the goal of pushing refrigeration innovation and technologies forward.

Mr Gill said “As an industry, we need to recruit, train and retain people equipped with the knowledge and skills that a modern, forward-thinking industry requires. Just as no-one will expect the cooling solutions, we supply in the future to be the same as those from the past, no-one should expect the workforce to be the same either. This year’s campaign is an opportunity to showcase what we are doing now to ensure we have the diverse, highly skilled workforce that our future industry needs.”

Refrigeration and HVAC Engineer Careers

In a previous article we discussed “A Career in the Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVACR) Industry” covering what an HVAC and Refrigeration engineer is and does, along with the required skill set and how to become a Refrigeration and HVAC engineer.

Clearly finding new low carbon technologies will play a major role in driving the cooling sector forward making it an exciting industry to be a part in the 21^st century.

Synecore Refrigeration Design and Installation Specialists

Synecore is an established providers of commercial refrigeration across Kent, London and the UK. From small coldrooms and blast chillers to food preparation production areas, we can design and install refrigeration systems that meet all your business’s needs, and which can be relied upon to work efficiently. We also keep up to date with changes to legislation that impact the refrigeration industry and to ensure full FGas compliance.

Synecore works with the largest refrigeration manufacturers in the UK including Hubbard, J&E Hall, Copeland, Bitzer and Searle installing only the highest quality equipment, guaranteed by trusted manufacturers.

To view a small sample of the work we have carried out take a look at the following case studies:

• KFC – restaurant HVAC system and commercial refrigeration, comprising three bespoke coldrooms
• Pizza Hut – hired mobile coldroom
• Treats & Snax – cooling in our sandwich production area
• Leon and Five Guys – cold room
• Madison – PIR fire rated dual compartment coldroom
• Cibosano – Distribution coldroom
• Paul Bakery, The Strand – design and manufacture the bespoke display refrigeration.

If you’re looking to install refrigeration or need to replace or maintain your current refrigeration system please contact our team or call on 01795 509 509. Our team will book an appointment for one of our engineers to visit your site and discuss your options.