max tech presentation
TRANSCRIPT
Max Tech and Beyond Appliance Design Competition
(Academic Year 2013/2014)UCSD (P.E.E.R.S)PassiveEnergyEfficientRefrigerationSystem
Thursday May 29th, 2014
Project Members:• Joshua Cohen• Josh Stiling• Dane Sequeira (Student Lead)• Jan Kleissl (Principal Investigator)• Cameron Ravanbach• Luke Calkins• Lukas Syka
The Team
Project GoalAppliance under modification: Refrigerator
Problem: Release of cold air when door opens• Buoyancy driven convection• Refrigerator consumes energy to drive
temperature back down
Proposed Solution: Restrict outward flow of cold air during opening events
Prototype DevelopmentFeatures Clear plastic barrier – Contents visible, effectively closed Bottom hinging drawers – smaller opening surface area restricts convective flow
10% Proposed Energy Saving Based On:Reduced time subject to airflowReduced area subject to airflowDiscouraged buoyancy driven flow
About the PrototypeLaser cut from a sheet of
clear ¼” acrylic Handles for openingMagnetic closure
mechanismStopper mechanismRubber seal along outer
edges
20 sec 1 min 2 min
Without Prototype:
With Prototype:
20 sec 1 min 2 min
Preliminary Testing
Testing EquipmentFive thermocouple temperature
sensors
External humidity sensor
Water containers to simulate thermal mass
Power consumption meter
Testing Method
Fridge was run under normal use conditions with sensors in place
Tests were performed both with and without the prototype in place The data was normalized Power consumption was
compared
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 70
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500Energy Usage vs Time
No Panel
Hours
Watt
-Hou
rs
Results
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 70
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
f(x) = 69.6743448215534 x
Energy Usage vs Time
No Panel
Linear (No Panel)
Hours
Watt
-Hou
rs
Results
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 70
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
f(x) = 69.6743448215534 x
Energy Usage vs Time
No Panel
Linear (No Panel)
Panel
Hours
Watt
-Hou
rs
Results
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 70
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
f(x) = 61.5650477905495 x
f(x) = 69.6743448215534 x
Energy Usage vs Time
No Panel
Linear (No Panel)
Panel
Linear (Panel)
Hours
Watt
-Hou
rs
Results
Savings
Without Panel With Panel42
44
46
48
50
52
54
kWh/Month
51.8
45.8
12.3% Energy Savingover Energy Star Rated Product
Approximately $25 per unit
Paths to market Partner with fridge manufacturers Direct consumer sales
Payback Period4.5 years (Energy Star Rated Refrigerator)11 months (Average Household Refrigerator)
Market PotentialMaterial Cost
~6 kg Acrylic $15
Hardware $5
Assembly $5
Total Cost $25
Acknowledgments Team Members: Dane Sequeira, Lukas Syka, Josh Stiling,
Cameron Ravanbach, Luke Calkins, Joshua Cohen University: University of California, San Diego Principal investigator: Jan Kleissl ([email protected]) Student Lead: Dane Sequeira ([email protected]) Funding: Department of Energy, EERE, Building Technologies
Office, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory References: Alan Meier (Refrigerator Energy Use in the
Laboratory and in the Field), R. Saidur (Role of Ambient Temperature, Door Opening, Thermostat Setting Position and their Combined Effect on Refrigerator-Freezer Energy Consumption), C. Inan (Heat and Mass Transfer Through a Domestic Refrigerator and Evaluation of Evaporator Performance under Frosted Conditions)