The history of refrigeration machines began in the mid-19th century, undergoing several technological leaps from manual equipment to intelligent systems, gradually becoming an indispensable core device in modern industry and household life.
In 1834, Jacob Perkins of England successfully developed a manually operated, continuously functioning refrigeration machine using ether as the working fluid. In 1844, J. Gory of the United States developed a refrigeration machine using air as the working fluid, used in hospitals for ice making and air cooling. Between 1872 and 1874, D. Bell and C. von Linde invented the ammonia compressor in the United States and Germany respectively, and developed the ammonia vapor compression refrigeration machine, marking the beginning of modern compression refrigeration machines. In the 1850s, the Carré brothers of France successfully developed absorption refrigeration machines using sulfuric acid and water as working fluids and ammonia water absorption refrigeration machines. In 1910, the steam jet refrigeration machine appeared. In 1930, Freon refrigerant was introduced, promoting the rapid development of compression refrigeration machines. In 1945, the United States successfully developed a silver bromide absorption chiller.