Life without refrigeration

It’s so simple to take things for granted, this year has demonstrated that well – who thought we’d be in lock-down so much, and all life would change? So it got us thinking, how another thing we take for granted changes lives – refrigeration. It might not seem mega-important, but when you consider life without refrigeration, you realise the amount it’s used! We are talking everything refrigeration, from freezing to air conditioning.

So, in this blog, we’ll take a look at the concept of how refrigeration plays a part in our everyday lives, and what will happen without it. You might be surprised at the result!

Imagine life without refrigeration in:

Medicine.

Without refrigeration, disease as we know it would rife. The reason for this is that refrigeration plays a huge part in keeping medicines and vaccinations cold. Vaccinations for example are often based on live viruses that are developed to work on the body to combat all sorts of disease. They have to be kept cold, otherwise, they simply will not work. Some penicillins also fall into this category such as the flavoured children’s version (we bet you remember it well!), along with certain eye drop products. The list of medicines that need to be kept cold seems endless.

Food.

Without refrigeration, our diets will be very different and also very bland. Supermarkets would not be as half as big and specialist companies such as Iceland wouldn’t exist! Imagine trying to import delicious foods from far-flung places that we are so used to. It wouldn’t happen as they would be spoilt by the time they arrived.

Items such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, in fact, any dairy product would have a much shorter shelf life. What about ice cream? Even your favourite tipple ‘on the rocks’. We agree back before everyone had fridges and freezers at home, they managed and that’s true. But could you imagine it in the modern-day setting?

Hospitals.

We have covered medicine but there is so much more than just medicines when it comes to health care. Hospitals would be a totally different experience without refrigeration. It’s used in so many departments, pharmacy is only one of them! Take a large hospital, you’ll have refrigeration for blood products, for laboratory samples, certain surgical instruments and sutures, the hospital catering facility (serving the whole hospital and wards), the mortuary, clean rooms for sterilising instruments/gowns, even the ice machines for the labour suite! The list goes on and on.

Office.

Fancy sitting in a stuffy, hot office during the height of the summer? No, nor do we. That would be the case if it was for the modern cooling aspect of air-con. Okay, we hear you – desk fans! Well granted they could help, but they just push warm air around, not take warm air, and dispel it for cool air. A very simplified analogy, but a basic way air-con works. When you consider countries have summer holidays for children – simply because classrooms globally could be too hot, you can see how important it can be.

Technology.

You are looking at this blog on something electronic, it could be a mobile, laptop, desktop computer or tablet. The thing is without the cooling properties you get from refrigeration, the components to make them would be difficult and, in some cases, impossible. That means technology would be nowhere as advanced as it today. Perhaps there wouldn’t be people of ages glued to their mobile phones – but also the information we have gained for the global pandemic would be more difficult to. Technology, frowned upon by some, does have very good uses too.

Manufacturing.

Many industries rely on refrigeration to help manufacture and keep products at their optimum – not just the technology sector. The leather industry, the floristry industry – these both use refrigeration. In fact, when you think about it, it plays a major part in many industries.

Leisure facilities.

We have already published a blog about keeping the temperature correct in leisure facilities, such as changing rooms, to stop mould growth. Imagine if there was none of this – mould could grow in places such as this – and most, if not all, people would avoid it totally.

This (excuse the pun) is the tip of the iceberg. We rely on refrigeration in all its guises much more than we even realise. Without it, the world would be a strange, (okay stranger), place. Life would be different, and life expectancy would possibly be lower.

If this has made you think, please leave a comment or if you want to know how we could help with your project and use our expertise, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our team will be only too happy to chat with you and discuss everything from concept to completion, and the maintenance beyond.

Because we are sure of one thing… refrigeration is here to stay!