Temperature in the fridge, or Where is its coldest place?

On the Internet, you can come across a huge amount of conflicting information and disputes on this topic. Someone claims, referring to the laws of physics, which is the coldest below. And someone, no less reasoned, proves the opposite. Let's try to figure out where is the coldest place in the fridge?

It is useless to fool around the mouth to unequivocally assert this or that. The laws of physics, of course, have not been canceled, and the cold air is still falling down, and the warm air is rising. But not everything is so simple! The temperature in different parts of the refrigeration compartment depends largely on the design features of the refrigerator itself.

Single chamber

As you know, refrigerators are mainly of two types: two-chamber and single-chamber. In single-chamber freezer is usually located at the top and therefore, contrary to popular belief, the coolest thing on top shelf. The fact is that the cold air from the freezer evaporator, falling down, rather slowly passes through the shelves with food and gives them cold. In fact, the shelves are partitions that interfere with normal air circulation, so free convection occurs only between the freezer and the uppermost shelf.

In modern single-chamber refrigerators, a special valve is provided in the freezer tray, opening and closing of which can additionally affect the degree of cooling of products in the main chamber.

Therefore, meat and sausages are recommended to be stored on the upper levels directly under the freezer evaporator. At the middle level, you should keep ready meals and dairy products, and below drinks. For vegetables and fruits, a special sliding tray is provided at the bottom under the glass, which allows you to maintain a certain humidity in the tray.

There are refrigerators that do not have freezers. They are commonly used in shops, hotels, and also when transporting food and beverages that must remain cold. In such models, the cooling function performs special circuitin which the freezing temperature is maintained. In this case, the coldest part will be at the walls of the chamber and below.

Two-compartment

In two-chamber refrigerators, everything is different, and the temperature does not depend on the location of the freezer. In them, the refrigerating and freezing compartments are separated, and each has its own evaporator. The evaporator takes heat from the cooled object and gives it to the coolant evaporating in the channels of the chamber. Therefore, the coldest place is located beside with evaporator holes, usually at the back wall and at the bottom of the compartment, due to the natural air circulation.

Two-chamber refrigerators with a forced convection system are equipped with special fans that ensure uniform distribution of cold air throughout the entire volume of the chambers. In this case, the temperature difference at different levels depends only on the location of the fans and ventilation openings.

With forced convection, intense airflow through the air stream leads to dehydration. Therefore, they should be stored in sealed packages.

The instruction manual usually clearly states the order in which products should be placed on the shelves,and sometimes even the levels inside the refrigerator compartment are marked with corresponding icons. If the instruction does not have a half-word about it, then you can simply take a small room thermometer and measure the temperature on all the shelves yourself to eliminate all doubts.

Conclusion

One thing is absolutely certain: the coldest place in any refrigerator is always in the depth of the refrigerator compartment closer to the back wall, and the warmest place is on the door shelves, as they are most often exposed to the ambient temperature when opened.

To learn more about the principle of operation of the domestic refrigerator, watch the video.