Abstract
Refrigerators play an important role in perishable goods supply chains and are expected to operate efficiently. Thermoelectric refrigerators need specific criteria for assessing their energy efficiency. The existing criteria do not take into account the insulation properties of a refrigerator cabinet, which results in a low credibility of the assessment of energy parameters of thermoelectric coolers. The aim of the research was to develop and approve a new universal criterion for assessing the energy efficiency of stationary thermoelectric refrigerators used in supply chains. It was proposed to replace the known criterion of specific power consumption with a new indicator Pk, that takes into account the overall thermal transfer coefficient of the refrigerator cabinet. Based on experimental studies, the approval of the proposed indicator was carried out on the example of a comparative analysis of four thermoelectric refrigerators from different manufacturers. The indicator application resulted in changes in ranking of the examined refrigerators. It was found that the proposed criterion allows us to assess the effectiveness of a thermoelectric cold source more adequately, including the electric power supply and temperature control system. The research results may constitute guidelines for the design and application of standards for assessing the effectiveness of thermoelectric refrigerators.
Highlights
Technical and technological progress in the 21st century is inextricably associated with the desire to reduce energy consumption by machines, devices and instruments in all branches of the world economy [1]
The aim of the research, the results of which are presented in this article, is to develop and approve a new universal criterion for assessing the energy efficiency of stationary thermoelectric refrigerators used in supply chains
Since the chamber capacity V does not include all the essential design features of the refrigerator, in Equation (1) the value of V could be replaced by the product of kF, where k—refrigerator thermal transfer coefficient, F—average heat transfer surface, as it is defined in Equation (2): F = Fi · Fe m2, (2)
Summary
Technical and technological progress in the 21st century is inextricably associated with the desire to reduce energy consumption by machines, devices and instruments in all branches of the world economy [1]. Energy efficiency primarily concerns refrigeration and air conditioning, including household appliances, commercial refrigeration and transport refrigerators. Modern refrigerators include thermoelectric devices, which do not contain refrigerants, that cause them to be considered as environmentally friendly solutions, do not emit noise and are cheaper than their compressor counterparts [2]. Along with the dynamic growth of the world production of thermoelectric refrigerators, the assortment of thermoelectric coolers increases and the chamber capacity of these refrigerators becomes more diverse. Stationary thermoelectric refrigerators with a capacity of 40–60 L reflect the main development trend of this type of device and compete with similar refrigerators of other types [9,10]
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