Jonathan CooksonSupport for an annual World Refrigeration Day is growing, with June 26 mooted as the day to mark the industry’s contribution to the world economy and society.
Stephen Gill, refrigerant consultant and President of the Institute of Refrigeration, hopes World Refrigeration Day will serve as a means of raising awareness of refrigeration and the role it plays in modern life and society.
“Refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump technologies and applications have evolved out of a human need for food, comfort and thermal processes, with a history dating back centuries,” he says.
“However, it remains a longstanding frustration for those working within the industry that it is not widely recognised that modern life could not exist without it. Nor is there any appreciation by wider society for the skills and knowledge employed on a daily basis by industry professionals.”
Support for a global day has already come from the US, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, Africa and across Europe.
In Australia, Tony Gleeson, M.AIRAH, CEO of the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH), has thrown his support behind the initiative.
“The growth and success of Australia both as an economy and as a nation is due in a major way to the HVAC&R industry,” he says, “from the mining of minerals and metals to the transportation of food across the globe to the expansion of our cities into hot and difficult climates. All of this has been possible due to the evolution and ingenuity of the industry.
“Inspired by AIRAH’s founding father James Harrison – one of the leading pioneers of mechanical refrigeration – we are a proud supporter of World Refrigeration Day on June 26,” says Gleeson.
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