Old British fridges 'cannot cope with the heat'

Breaking news from the markets: Old British fridges 'cannot cope with the heat'Image source, Matthew Hill / BBCImage caption, Broken fridges in a Somerset supermarket were photographed when temperatures soared over 36CByDave Harvey, West of England business and environment correspondent and Alexandra Bassingham, West of EnglandPublished3 hours agoAs Britain braces itself for another hot week, experts are warning that many fridges in UK homes and supermarkets are unable to cope with the sort of record-breaking temperatures we have been experiencing. Bristol-based refrigeration expert Dr Alan Foster said the appliances were "designed decades ago in a much cooler world". Fridges are typically designed to operate in air temperatures up to about 32C.

When temperatures rise above that – as they did last week and may again next week – they can struggle to stay cool or fail completely. Shoppers in Somerset and Bristol reported supermarket fridges switched off and empty, while engineers in Wiltshire reported record call-outs to home fridges that have "given up the ghost". As the Met Office warns that heatwaves are becoming more common in the UK, the question is whether the nation's fridges can keep up.

Economic Details

More from BristolFestival for women creatives launches in beauty spot Published3 hours agoCPS considering charges against MP after rape arrest Published17 hours agoIdentical twin dies weeks after setting up leukaemia fundraiser Published1 day agoWhy do fridges struggle in hot weather? In a testing lab in Lower Langford, Somerset, Foster runs experiments to see how fridges cope with rising temperatures. Inside a climate-controlled chamber, a standard fridge is fitted with sensors and filled with gel blocks to measure how evenly it cools.

"We can test the temperature across different parts of the fridge," he explained. Crucially, they can also make the room warmer or cooler, to see how the fridge survives in a warming world. His team at Refrigeration Developments and Testing, (RD&T) work for many of the big retailers, advising them how to cope with climate change.

"In most of the supermarkets out there, the fridges were designed for 32C, which obviously isn't enough, because these were designed decades ago. "It was a much cooler world. "He said once temperatures go beyond what the system was designed for, the compressor works continually to keep things cold – eventually leading to breakdown.

Analyst Views

Image caption, Dr Alan Foster tests fridges with high-tech temperature probes to see how they cope with a hotter climateWhy are supermarket fridges switching off? When systems are under pressure, supermarkets may reduce the number of chilled cabinets in use to keep others working. The systems run on central refrigeration units, so by closing some cabinets they can keep enough crucial ones cool.

A study commissioned by, external the UK Climate Change Commission found that the food industry was badly hit by the UK heatwave of 2022, which saw a maximum temperature of 40. 3C for the first time.

Financial markets are tracking the development closely as investors assess the likely impact.