International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol.42, No.13, 8955-8961, 2017
Thermal control influence on energy efficiency in domestic refrigerator powered by photovoltaic
This paper studies the importance of temperature control in household refrigerator on the environmental and economic plan. Refrigerator energy consumption is greatly affected by room temperature, door opening and thermostat regulation. A household refrigerator powered by photovoltaic energy was tested in laboratory to determine the effect of thermal regulation on energy consumption. Our investigation reveals that there is a difference in minimal average temperature between the thermostat and the evaporator for three different thermostat positions. This difference in temperature was justified by three parameters: the bad contact between the thermostat bulb and the surface of the evaporator, thermostat thermal inertia and the error due to the mechanical control of the thermostat. Finally, this work allows us an estimate of the energy saving by the kWh electricity price in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) Vs Europe region depending on the number of refrigerators. The energy optimization decreases the aggressive methods of electricity production. The Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy present an important alternative on the three planes Energy, Economic and Environmental (3E). (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC.