Experimental development of an intelligent refrigeration system

In this study, an alternative solution to reduce energy consumption in industrial refrigeration systems is proposed and introduced. A typical industrial refrigeration system was conceived, built and modified in the laboratory, receiving a novel power law control system, which utilizes a frequency inverter. The operation and energy consumption of the system operating either with the new control system or with the traditional on-off control were compared to realistically quantify the obtained gains. In this manner, the measured temperature data acquired from several points of both systems and the energy consumption in kW h during a 24 h experimental run period are compared. The closed-loop power law controlled system shows a much smaller variation of the cold chamber internal temperature and electrical energy consumption economy of 35.24% in comparison with the traditional on-off system, under the same operating conditions.