DOE/AHAM advanced refrigerator technology development project

As part of the effort to improve residential energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse emissions from power plants, several design options were investigated for improving the energy efficiency of a conventionally designed domestic refrigerator-freezer. The program goal was to reduce the energy consumption of a 20-ft{sup 3} (570-L) top-mount refrigerator-freeze to 1.00 kWh/d, a 50% reduction from the 1993 National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) standard. The options--such as improved cabinet and door insulation, a high-efficiency compressor, a low-wattage fan, a large counterflow evaporator, and adaptive defrost control--were incorporated into prototype refrigerator-freezer cabinets and refrigeration systems. The refrigerant HFC-134a was used as a replacement for CFC-12. The baseline energy performance of the production refrigerator-freezers, along with cabinet heat load and compressor calorimeter test results, were extensively documented to provide a firm basis for experimentally measured energy savings. The project consisted of three main phases: (1) an evaluation of energy-efficient design options using computer simulation models and experimental testing, (2) design and testing of an initial prototype unit, and (3) energy and economic analyses of a final prototype. The final prototype achieved an energy consumption level of 0.93 kWh/d--an improvement of 45% over the baseline unit and 54% over the 1993 NAECA standard for 20-fg{sup 3} (570-L) units. The manufacturer`s cost for those improvements was estimated at $134; assuming that cost is doubled for the consumer, it would take about 11.4 years to pay for the design changes. Since the payback period was thought to be unfeasible, a second, more cost-effective design was also tested. Its energy consumption level was 1.16 kWh/d, a 42% energy savings, at a manufacturer`s cost increase of $53. Again assuming a 100% markup, the payback for this unit would be 6.6 years