Experimental assessment of the replacement of a conventional fin-and-tube condenser by a minichannel heat exchanger in an air/water chiller for residential air conditioning

This paper analyses the performance of an air/water chiller typically used for residential air conditioning when a minichannel condenser is used in replacement of a conventional fin-and-tube condenser. The experimental facility, the data reduction process and the uncertainty analysis are briefly described and then the experimental results are presented and discussed, comparing the results obtained with both, the minichannel and the fin-and-tube condenser. Additionally, the chiller is numerically modelled using a commercial refrigeration system modelling software (IMST-ART). The good agreement between experimental and numerical results allows validating the model that is then used to calculate the mass of refrigerant contained in all the components of the system, as well as other operational parameters of interest not measured experimentally. The analysis of the results shows that replacing a conventional fin-and-tube condenser by a minichannel condenser allows, under almost any operating condition, reducing the mass of refrigerant increasing efficiency and cooling capacity.