The energy efficiency and environmental analysis of open-type commercial display cabinet with a multi-flow air curtain design

Abstract

Open vertical display case refrigerators are often preferred as commercial refrigerators. This is because, despite their high energy consumption they have a higher marketing potential with the product display and offer easy access. Commercial refrigeration system accounts for half of the energy consumption in supermarkets. Air curtains of different designs are used in open vertical cabinets to reduce heat and mass transfer between the cooled air and the indoor environment. Hence, an experimental study was conducted to evaluate the multi-flow designed air curtain effects on the energy efficiencies of open display case-type commercial refrigerators. The experiments were conducted with ISO 23953:2005 standard in a controlled test room. During the trials, four different temperatures of air flowed to the refrigerator: +25 °C, +11 °C, +2°C, and 0 °C respectively through the air curtains. As a result of the experiments, a higher Coefficient of Performance COP value and lower Energy Efficiency Index (EEI) value were obtained with multi-flow air curtains. The multi-flow designed air curtain has nearly 40 % eliminated the air entrained from the outside to the indoor environment. It has ensured that the interior temperature values remain at the desired level. The second polyurethane body has reduced heat transfer through the surface by about 30 %, thereby reducing cooling load and energy consumption.