Experimental Study on the Prospective Use of PV Panels for Chest Freezer in Hot Climate Regions

Abstract

Chest freezer is one of the commercial refrigeration systems used for keeping foods nutritious and healthy. In its operation, a chest freezer requires transient loads that fluctuate from time to time accordingly with environmental conditions. To be able to satisfy the cooling load, uninterrupted power should be supplied. Photovoltaic (PV) power supply system can provide continuous, independent and reliable electrical energy at the point of use. This can make it particularly suitable to be used for remote region and boost the use of renewable energy. This study investigated the potential use of PV power supply system for a chest freezer in Indonesia as a hot climate region. A solar PV-powered chest freezer has been established to experimentally investigate its daily operating performance. Electrical energy generated, stored and consumed by the system was recorded and analyzed. A well-matched electrical power generated by solar PV system and consumed by a chest freezer was determined. Detailed results obtained during daily experimental measurements are also presented. The study results showed that solar PV panels applied for chest freezer in hot climate region is amazingly prospective.