ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF DEFROSTING PROCESS IN NO-FROST REFRIGERATORS

Abstract

Refrigerators have high energy consumption because they consume energy throughout the day, and they are used in all residences and in most offices. Designing more efficient models and, thus, decreasing the energy consumption of refrigerators have become necessary, owing to the global energy scarcity. The purpose of this study was to decrease energy consumption and increase the efficiency of the defrosting process in no-frost refrigerators. The defrosting process plays an important role in the energy consumption of no-frost refrigerators. The amount of energy needed for defrosting and the time it takes are important factors for manufacturers in terms of energy performance. Recently, a theoretical correlation was developed as a function of the frost thickness, heat flux, and frost density for estimating the defrosting time of an evaporator fin surface. The melting time of the frost on the fin was calculated by a mathematical model and compared to results that were obtained experimentally. The results were differed from the actual melting time as 4.7%.