Two-Speed Compressor Operation in a Refrigerator/Freezer

Srichai, P.R.; Bullard, C.W.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/11603 Copy

Description

Title

Two-Speed Compressor Operation in a Refrigerator/Freezer

Author(s)

• Srichai, P.R.
• Bullard, C.W.

Issue Date

1997-07

Keyword(s)

cycling performance

Abstract

A two-speed compressor was installed in a side-by-side refrigerator in order to validate simulation results which predicted significant increases in energy efficiency due to better load matching and reduced temperature lift. The steady state system COP at the low compressor speed (2400 rpm) was found to increase by 12% to 19% when compared to the high compressor speed (3600 rpm). About 9% of the energy savings achieved at the low compressor speed were attributable to the lower temperature lift; most of the remainder was due to the fact that the compressor itself operated more efficiently at the low speed. The savings observed at the low speed are net of the penalty incurred by the heat exchanger fans consuming some of the energy savings during the longer on-cycles. Additional experiments demonstrated that a refrigerator's energy efficiency could be increased by reducing the condenser fan speed when operating at low ambient temperatures. The decrease in fan speed causes a re-distribution of charge from the condenser to the evaporator resulting in a reduction in evaporator superheat and an overall increase in evaporator capacity.

Publisher

Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center. College of Engineering. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Series/Report Name or Number

Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center TR-121

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/11603

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Project 66

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