Market Assessment and Commercialization Strategy for the Radial Sandia Cooler

Market Assessment for Residential Refrigerator-Freezer with Novel Rotating Heat Exchanger

“…According to the project team, any additional frost that is formed breaks off and can be collected to subcool the refrigerant as it leaves the condenser. SNL originally developed the Radial Sandia Cooler to serve as a heat exchanger in residential, commercial, industrial and transportation applications (Goetzler, et al 2014). ORNL, working with SNL and the University of Maryland, used the Sandia Cooler to develop a rotating heat exchanger evaporator for residential refrigeration applications (Abdelaziz, Momen and Rice 2015).…”

“…These annual savings are expected to allow consumers to recoup the purchase price premium within a reasonable timeframe. • Increased Refrigerator useable storage volume: The smaller size of the RHX evaporator compared to conventional fan-plus-heat-exchanger assemblies provides opportunities to increase the usable storage volume inside refrigerator-freezer cabinets and increase in overall exterior dimensions (Goetzler, et al 2014). • Quieter refrigerator operation: The RHX evaporator operates more quietly than traditional refrigerator evaporators, reducing noise levels in the kitchen.…”

“…The first step to understanding the market potential of a novel technology is to define the target market, which was rather straightforward in this case. Navigant Consulting's "Market Assessment and Commercialization Strategy for the Radial Sandia Cooler" (Goetzler, et al 2014) identified residential refrigerator-freezers as one of six strong candidates for market introduction of the Sandia Cooler based on high market attractiveness and high technology attractiveness. As a result, R&D was initiated to investigate the use of RHX evaporators in this application.…”

“…Therefore, the target market in this study is assumed to be the residential refrigeration industry; more specifically, standard size household refrigerator-freezers. (Goetzler, et al 2014) It should be noted that the Sandia report (Goetzler, et al 2014), selected residential refrigerator-freezers as a promising market application because the authors indicated that the Sandia Cooler could help improve the performance of the condenser, which is limited by current fin-and-tube heat exchangers and dust accumulation over time. While integration into the evaporator design was not specifically mentioned, it is assumed that the capacity would be acceptable for the evaporator if the capacity is acceptable for the condenser.…”