Climatic class of refrigerators: from permafrost to tropical savannas

There are still cases when the refrigerator breaks down, it is carried to the workshop, there they refuse to guarantee repair, and the owners of the refrigerator are indignant: "Some fairy tales are told about a certain climate!" Affects a long-standing habit: he bought a refrigeration unit - "Morozko", "Oku" or "Donbass" - switched on and forgot, even on the Black Sea coast, even in the Arctic. For the quality of the refrigerator especially no one watched, and even on the electricity meter and more than looked. It gives cold - and it's okay.

However, the climate class of refrigerators is not a marketing move at all to achieve higher sales volumes. Buyers in pursuit of prestigious brands and sizes completely forget that the principle of operation of any refrigerating unit is based on the second law of thermodynamics. According to him, in order to obtain a negative temperature, it is necessary to put somewhere a positive temperature formed during this process. And the heat transfer is not at all the same on the shores of the Black and Okhotsk seas, which also establishes the climatic class of refrigerators. The closer to the equator, the thicker the insulation layer of the refrigerating chamber should be, the more powerful the compressor, the larger the area it is necessary to have a condenser. All this is necessary for normal, and most importantly, trouble-free operation.

Manufacturers of refrigeration units distinguish eight climatic classes - four basic and four double. Each of them has its own designation, one for all producers, regardless of the country in which the unit was manufactured.

The climatic class of the refrigerator N (normal) is considered basic, although it does not differ in its versatility. Its working temperature range in the room is +16 ... + 32.

The designation SN (subnormal) attests that the refrigerator can operate normally at +10 ... + 32.

Subtropics are usually characterized by high relative humidity. In these difficult conditions (+18 ... + 38) the unit with the designation ST (subtropical) can work.

In the actual tropics it is even hotter, in addition, and more drier. For them, the climatic class of refrigerators T (tropical) with a working temperature range of +18 ... + 43 is intended.

It should be noted that the Russian market is quite naturally most often offering the consumer "normal" and "subnormal" refrigerators. However, global warming is also making its own adjustments to the marketing strategy: even in mid-latitudes the temperature can often jump to +35. Therefore, double climatic classes of refrigerators with wider operating temperature range are in great demand.

The climatic class N ST is designed for normal operation in the temperature range +16 ... + 32, NT - +16 ... + 43, SN ST - +10 ... + 38. The most universal is the climatic class of the refrigerator SN T: such an aggregate should not experience any problems if the room temperature does not fall below +10 and does not rise above +43.

On Russian-made refrigeration appliances one can also find Russian-language marking: O (general-climatic) corresponds to classes ST and T, UHL (moderately cold) to classes N and SN.

The climatic class of refrigerators is the determining parameter for its normal operation. Remember: if the refrigeration unit fails during the warranty period, but in the workshop it will be established that the temperature regime in which it was operated did not match its climatic class, you will be rightfully denied warranty repair.