Celebrating the 2nd Annual World Refrigeration Day

The second annual World Refrigeration Day will take place on June 26 – Lord Kelvin’s birthday – to raise awareness of the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sectors, and draw attention to their role in modern life.

The theme this year is the importance of the cold chain to modern society, underscored by its key role during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With that in mind, the WRD Secretariat, ASHRAE, European Partnership for Energy and Environment (EPEE), International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), and UNEP OzonAction have launched a campaign – called Cold Chain 4 Life – to address “the importance of the cold chain sector and its vital contribution to food safety and security as well as public health and well-being,” according to the campaign’s website. 

Last year’s inaugural World Refrigeration Day (WRD) consisted of more than 800 physical events in more than 153 countries, noted Stephen Gill, founder of WRD, Head of the WRD Secretariat, and a longtime refrigeration engineer, consultant, and trade association leader.

“The main lesson we learned is that there is an appetite and passion around the industry that is not restricted by country boundaries,” he said. “Across the world, the industry wanted to come together to celebrate what we do.”

For 2020, Gill’s aim was to build upon last year’s success with an increasing number of physical events on June 26, but “this will simply not be possible for World Refrigeration Day as we transform to a mainly virtual experience,” he said, referring to the ongoing pandemic.

“We encourage the industry to use the opportunity of World Refrigeration Day to raise awareness and understanding of the significant role that the industry, its science and its technology play in modern life and society in a safe and responsible manner that is fully compliant with local restrictions and aligned to all safety measures,” said Gill.

One activity will include a webinar on World Refrigeration Day at 10am (London, UK time) called “CO₂ Question Time: Extra Time,”.

The 90-minute session will feature presentations on the development of CO₂ as a refrigerant and a case study at sushi wholesaler Tanpopo, followed by a discussion about the practicalities, opportunities and challenges of introducing CO₂ systems into supermarkets and beyond.

The London-based Institute of Refrigeration (IOR) has developed several initiatives linked to WRD. One is encouraging HVAC&R stakeholders in the U.K. to post on social media such as twitter (tagging @thecoolinghub, #refrigerationheros #openforcooling and #wrefd20) examples of how the cooling industry has been providing essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic in areas such as food supply, medical facilities, hospitals and building operation.

IOR is also hosting a webinar on WRD called “Beyond Refrigeration – the challenge to achieve net zero heating and cooling for the UK.” (Register here.)

The webinar will address seven cooling strategies that can help mitigate climate change: balancing heating and cooling demand, making use of best available technology, achieving best system performance, working together, using energy intelligently, reducing the need for mechanical cooling, and developing the best people and skills.

WRD