Optimising performance and energy use in multi-cold space refrigerating systems

摘要

It is common knowledge that evaporators are frequently defrosted more often than is optimal. The reason for this is that the consequences of not defrosting in time are that the cabinet effectively ceases refrigerating: this leads to contents loss. The required time between defrosts is dependent on ambient conditions and usage patterns. To be safe, defrost frequency is established so that the worst environmental conditions envisaged can be coped with. This frequency is then increased to provide a safety factor. It has long been understood that, the frequency of defrosts could be reduced if there was a reliable way of detecting when a defrost was required. This paper presents such a method, called PREDICT, and shows the potential financial and environmental benefits of its uptake by end-users. The method is put into the context of the continued development a suite of energy efficient products by JTL Systems.