William Jack wrote:I don't know when I realized it, but for a long time now I've been troubled by the design of refrigerators.
So you've basically got a pump for moving heat from inside an insulated box to somewhere outside of it. Pretty simple concept. So why is the motor for this doohickey *underneath* the insulated box, where the heat from its operation will rise up into the insulation?
The old refrigerators used to have their compressors at the top. They were called
Monitor Top Refrigerators. They blew the vented heat directly out the top, and were mostly used commercially. The older compressors used highly toxic/flammable substances, but were absurdly reliable. Toxic/flammable refrigerant meant that home use waited for nontoxic/nonflammable freon in the 30s. Small bottom-mounted motors with large passive radiators took the noise away from ear level, and made them quiet enough for the home.
Original appliances had cords running to the ceiling to plug into light bulb sockets, since early electrification was only for lighting. Standardized power outlets eventually put electricity at floor level. More about old lighting electrical systems
here.