World’s first magnetic refrigerator launched

French firm Cooltech Applications has launched what it claims as the world’s first commercially available magnetic refrigeration system. It can serve as a “Superfridge” slashing down both the environmental as well as economic challenges which the current electricity appliances face. The Magnetic Refrigeration System (MRS) achieves refrigeration by passing a water coolant through

magnetocaloric materials undergoing repeated magnetization-demagnetization cycles. Glycol water is used as a coolant fluid to transfer heat between cold and hot sources. The system works on the concept of magnetocaloric effect. The system works without any refrigerant gas, making it more environmentally efficient than conventional refrigerators. James Harrison, a Scottish-born journalist, invented the first functioning refrigerator in the 1850s using ether. 

Energy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products. In order to receive the ENERGY STAR rating, refrigerators must use at least 15% less energy than required by current federal standards.

The world’s largest refrigerator is a 27-kilometer long cryogenic distribution line on the border between France and Switzerland and is a part of a Large Hadron Collider.

To prevent the refrigerator’s coils from overheating, refrigerator should not be placed too close to the wall. It also should not be placed close to the sources of heat such are the stove or oven.