A refrigerator is a refrigeration device that maintains a constant low temperature; it is also a consumer product used to keep food or other items at a constant low temperature.
The world's first compression-type household refrigerator was invented in the United States in 1910. In 1925, the Swedish company Lido developed the household absorption refrigerator. In 1927, General Electric in the United States developed a fully enclosed refrigerator. In 1930, air-cooled continuous diffusion absorption refrigerators using different heating methods were launched on the market.
In May 2025, Samsung successfully developed its new Peltier cooling technology, completely overturning the reliance on environmentally harmful refrigerants in traditional refrigerators and air conditioners. In 2026, a new version of the "Limits and Energy Efficiency Grades for Household Refrigerators" came into effect, raising the energy efficiency grade indicators and energy consumption threshold requirements.
On February 28, 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics announced that the production of household refrigerators in 2024 reached 103.957 million units, an increase of 8.3% over the previous year.
