Energy conservation in domestic refrigerators by cooling compressor shell - A case study

- Defrost drips from the refrigerator is applied on the compressor's shell to cool the compressor.
- Enhanced heat removal from compressor's internal mechanism.
- Reduced friction leads to winding temperature and hence reduced current consumption.
- Energy saving up to 10.2% and hence reduced energy cost.

Application of energy efficient compressors, air handling units (AHUs), condensers and evaporators of high effectiveness are the some of the measures towards energy conservation in refrigeration systems. Cooling of compressor shell with the defrost drips is an energy saving measure which is explored in this paper. In tropical countries which have 70-80% RH year round, the quantity of defrost formation is significant while refrigeration systems are on. This defrost water is dripped on the compressor's shell, which in turn cools the compressor oil and hence reduces the friction losses and winding temperature of the motor. Once winding temperature is reduced the compressor's ampere rating is reduced which ultimately reduces the energy consumption of the compressor. For given conditions of refrigerator function, the compressor shell temperature and ampere rating of compressor are tabulated and investigated before and after compressor shell cooling. The investigation reveals that around 8-10% energy savings are achieved for the given conditions.