Performance Comparison of a Low GWP Refrigerants as Alternatives to R134a in a Refrigerator with and without Liquid-Suction Heat Exchanger

Abstract

The usage of refrigerators and air conditioners are more prevalent in a domestic environment now-a-days. Improving the efficiency of these devices can be considered as an important step to reduce their energy consumption. Currently, in India, most refrigerators work with HFC-134a as a refrigerant. The GWP value of HFC-134a is around 1430.Therefore, there is a greater demand to replace HFCs with low GWP refrigerants. In this document, the comparison of the performance of a refrigerator without fluid intake heat exchanger (LSHX) with low GWP refrigerants and the results are compared with HFC-134a performed. The low GWP refrigerants used in the test are: hydrocarbon-propane (R290) and isobutane (R600a), the pure hydrocarbons are HFC-134a and HFC-152a and the refrigerants are hydrofluoroolefins 1234yf and 1234ze (E). All have been tested without making changes in the system. The entire examination was carried out in the same system under the same working conditions.