Air-conditioning Unit Performance Analysis Equipped with a Shaded Condenser

Condensers are used in chillers and in air-conditioning systems to reject heat from the refrigerant to the outdoor air and to help in liquefying the refrigerant as it passes through its tubes. Reducing the surrounding air temperature or the surface temperature for the condenser would help in eliminating an additional source of heat into the refrigerant and lower the temperature of air surrounding the condensers which would enhance the air-conditioning system performance. A capstone project in the School of Engineering Technology at Purdue University conducted an experimental and analytical study to investigate the performance of a 3 ton-refrigerant (TR) airconditioning unit, installed in a residential house, while shading its condenser. The surface temperature of the tubes exiting the condenser were measured and recorded along with the evaporator temperature. The study looked into improvement in the coefficient of performance (COP) of the cycle. Data for the a 3 TR air-conditioning split unit were used to simulate the COP and improvement in the system performance. Experimental and analytical performances were simulated at different evaporator and outdoor temperatures. The experimental results for the 3-TR unit showed 12-39% improvement in the COP of the cycle under various evaporator temperatures, while the simulated results showed higher improvements than the experimental. The project was assessed through biweekly progress reports, presentations, final report and team work which satisfied many of the ABET outcomes such as applying knowledge, technical skills, mathematics and science in engineering technology problems, conducting tests and experiments, analyzing results, team work skills, and oral and written communication. This project and similarly embedded projects in courses are thought to increase students' knowledge by involving them in an active learning environment while solving or analyzing real world problems and challenges. Introduction Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are the largest electricityconsuming sector in residential buildings in the U.S. [1]. According to [2], the U.S. Energy Information Administration indicated that more than 40% of the total energy consumption in the U.S. is in residential buildings. This figure is slightly less in Canada with 30% of the country’s energy usage going into buildings of which 16% is by residential buildings [3]. The world equipment demand for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) has increased from 50