It’s the festival of fridgies – AKA World Refrigeration Day

If your food didn’t try and kill you today – thank a fridgie, aka, refrigeration technician. The trade and the technology underpin society as we know it, from the cold chain that ensures food gets safely from the farm gate to the plate via the retailers, through to cooling that keeps homes, workplaces and other buildings comfortable.

AIRAH is marking the day with a webinar, to launch the full suite of resources developed around the updated Flammable Refrigerants Safety Guide.

The free industry resources encapsulate the “Cool Intelligence” theme of World Refrigeration Day 2026 by helping refrigeration technicians, apprentices and other stakeholders understand the range of skills and knowledge required to work safely with flammable refrigerants.

The Flammable Refrigerants Safety Guide is complemented by a series of fact files, and online modules. All resources are freely accessible through the AIRAH website.

The resources were developed by AIRAH in collaboration with Refrigerants Australia and Refrigerant Reclaim Australia, with support from the ARBS Foundation.

AIRAH CEO, Sami Zheng, Affil.AIRAH, says the theme for 2026 is a strong acknowledgement of the calibre of people in the sector.

“HVAC&R is a sector where change is constant, and it also sits at the intersection of climate change, economic development, human health and technological innovation,” Zheng says.

“From the technicians working to install, maintain and repair equipment through to those who design systems, manufacture products and supply essentials like refrigerants; the whole sector is collaborating to tackle major challenges including the energy transformation.

“Human creativity, diligence, inventiveness and a sense of professional ethics all play a role. That, for me, is what the concept of ‘cool intelligence’ suggests.”

AIRAH is also partnering with Woolworths for World Refrigeration Day site tours of the plantrooms of major Woolworths supermarkets in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and another tour at a Woolworths in Darwin on July 2, 2026.

All the tours will showcase the state-of-the-art equipment that has been switched to low-GWP natural refrigerants.

What does “Cool Intelligence” mean?

HVAC&R News asked some of our members what “Cool Intelligence” means to them.

AIRAH Fellow and Woolworths Group Nominated Supervisor, Shane McBride, will be leading the Woolworths Queensland World Refrigeration Day celebrations at the Doolandella store alongside colleague and Nominated Supervisor, Ben Hughes.

McBride says human intelligence has scaled refrigeration to the point where it is “fundamental to global survival.”

“It powers our global food security by preserving produce from farm to shelf, ensures healthcare systems can safely store life-saving vaccines and laboratory samples, and even keeps our digital infrastructure alive by preventing high-performance AI data centres from overheating in seconds,” he says.

City Holdings’ Senior Refrigeration Engineer and AIRAH Member, Brian Toulson, says the achievements human intelligence has delivered for refrigeration are many. In the contemporary industry, that includes the adoption of safe and reliable transcritical refrigeration systems.

“Everything up to recent times has been achieved by human intelligence,” Toulson observes.

“But think back to James Harrison and the first ice maker way back in 1854 – he didn’t have AI, a PC or even a mobile phone to phone a friend, just ingenuity and dedication – that’s cool!”

There are tasks humans tackle in the sector which AI can never replace, according to Toulson, such as installations, service and rectification of faults.

As to what it takes to be a fridgie, he says the attributes required include an inquisitive mind, a methodical approach and being “someone who feels achievement in finding the balance in the presented challenge.”

Mark Lommers, M.AIRAH, Director of Nequinn Consulting tells HVAC&R News that whilst it is not a direct “thing”, seeing the big picture always amazes him.

“HVAC&R touches our lives in so many critical ways, from the economic benefits of food storage to the lifesaving benefits of ventilation systems for critical care in hospitals. They may seem simple, but the big picture is they are integral to our way of life and success as humans.”

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