Experimental Evaluation of a Microchannel Condenser for R600a Domestic Refrigerators
Domestic refrigerators are among the most common household appliances, accounting for approximately 4% of total household energy consumption, which is higher than that of clothes dryers, lighting, or cooking appliances. With nearly 13 million new domestic refrigerators sold annually, even marginal improvements in their energy performance can yield significant reductions in overall energy demand and cost. This study focuses on enhancing the performance of domestic refrigerators using R600a as the refrigerant. Most domestic refrigerators currently employ wire-and-tube condensers, which are bulky and require a larger refrigerant charge. Given that R600a is classified as an A3 flammable refrigerant under ASHRAE standards, minimizing the system charge while maintaining or improving performance is critical. To address this, a compact and light weight single-pass serpentine microchannel heat exchanger (made of aluminum) was adopted as a condenser, replacing the conventional wire-and-tube configuration. The modified system was experimentally tested according to AHAM test standards, and charge optimization was performed. The results demonstrated that the refrigerator equipped with the microchannel condenser achieved a 5.3% reduction in energy consumption compared to the baseline configuration with wire-and-tube condenser.