The influence of the supply voltage on the performance of a domestic refrigerator
Alexandre Barbabela Rocha Júnior1; Rafael Machado Martins Pimenta1; Wang Wei Cheng1; Antônio Augusto Torres Maia1
1 Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
doi:10.20906/CPS/COB-2015-1667
Resumo
This study evaluated the influence of the power supply voltage on the efficiency of a domestic refrigerator. Tests were performed with voltages between 103 V and 127 V. In these experiments, temperatures, compressor vibrations and electrical parameters were monitored. It was determined that the power consumption was independent of the voltage. However, it was observed that a lower voltage resulted in a reduction of as much as 28% in the reactive power and an improvement of 18.9% in the power factor. This result represents a reduction of 15.6% in the apparent power required from the system. It was also verified that the Coefficient of Performance (COP) was unaffected by the voltage. Thus, the variation in the power voltage proved to be ineffective in increasing the efficiency of the refrigerator, but it is effective in reducing the electrical energy loss to power suppliers.
Palavras-chave: Domestic refrigerator; Energy efficiency; Supply voltage; Power factor