Performance evaluations of refrigeration systems with air-cooled, water-cooled and evaporative condensers

Abstract

SUMMARYThis paper compares the performance characteristics of refrigeration systems employing three types of condensers, namely the air-cooled, the water-cooled and the evaporative condensers. Experimental studies were conducted in the same vapour-compression refrigeration unit operating with a different condenser in each test. It was found that the system with water-cooled condenser had a higher refrigeration capacity by 2.9-14.4%, and a higher COP by 1.5-10.2% than the one with evaporative condenser. However, the refrigeration capacity and COP of the unit with evaporative condenser were higher than those of the one with air-cooled condenser by 31.0 and 14.3%, respectively.

The role of maintenance in energy saving in commercial refrigeration

“…Lighting systems should be maintained to ensure all switches and timers are in full working order and set correctly to ensure lighting is switched off when not in use (Carbon Trust, 2006a). 288 JQME 18,3 Some systems use water to cool the condensers which can result in performance benefits (Hosoz and Kilicarslan, 2004). Where these are fitted the water system should be kept in a well-maintained condition.…”

Absorption Refrigeration Techniques with Phase Change Material and Dual Condenser Technology: An Extensive Review

“…Second law analysis was also performed. Hosoz et al [13] compared three types of condensers air-cooled, the water-cooled and the evaporative condensers. Vapourcompression refrigeration system was used to analyse the three types of condensers.…”

Energy Efficiency Evaluation and Economic Feasibility Analysis of a Geothermal Heating and Cooling System with a Vapor-Compression Chiller System

“…where COPc and COPH are the performance coefficients computed from Equations (15) and (16); Lc and LH are the ground heat exchanger pipe lengths for cooling and heating, respectively; CC is the cooling capacity; HC is the heating capacity; qc is the cooling load, qh is the heating load, Wc is the cooling work; Tmax and Tmin are the maximum and minimum fluid temperatures, respectively; Ti and Th are the maximum and minimum soil temperatures, respectively; Rs is the soil resistance; Rp is the pipe-soil resistance; and Fc and FH are cooling and heating factors, respectively, where Fc = 0.6 and FH = 0.9 [18].…”

“…An implicit formulation has been reported to be more accurate than an explicit method [16,17]. The operating efficiencies of multiple air-cooled chiller plants and the options for improving system design and efficiency were presented [18].…”