An inverse method for calculation of thermal inertia and heat gain in air conditioning and refrigeration systems

A new inverse method is proposed for estimation of thermal inertia and heat gain in air conditioning and refrigeration systems using on-site temperature measurements. The method is applied on a walk-in freezer room of a restaurant in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada during one week of its regular operation. The thermal inertia and instantaneous heat gain are calculated and the results are validated using actual information of the materials inside the freezer room. The proposed method can be implemented in intelligent control systems designed for new and existing HVAC-R systems to improve their overall energy efficiency and reduce their environmental impacts.