“This temperature corresponds to 0 degrees Fahrenheit, so it was “probably a round, easy number to remember”
That’s what Allouche and team will be working on next, as they build their research summary into a full report, to be published in September 2024. “These findings give good reasons for ‘3 degrees of change’ to be further explored,” Allouche says.
Three Degrees Of Change: Frozen food in a Resilient and Sustainable Food System (PDF)
Fridges with a dial usually are an uncalibrated simple analog thermostat sensor (often a gas tube with a pressure switch) along with a simple analog control board. Fridges with a digital thermostat tend to use a calibrated sensor (usually a thermocouple) with a digital control board.
Thanks for the answer! I knew there was a reason, but didn’t expect it to be as reasonable. The only analog thermostats I’m familiar with have bimetal coils, so that’s what was in my head.