ENERGY CONSERVATION IN MINI SPLIT AIR CONDITIONERS

[1] Mir Aqueel Ali* Email maali1968 @rediffmail.com Associate professor, Mobile - +919421852952 [2] Parvez agwan Email parvezagwan22@gmail.com Assistant professor, Mobile - +919881753120 [1] & [2] B N College of Engg. Pusad. accounted for the remaining 25%. MEPS and

Abstract

Energy savings in a mini split air conditioner maximum efficiency labels of the Indian includes correct sizing of AC, purchase, better installation and operation coupled with reduction in cooling loads. The design room ACs, however, are significantly lower than that compared with other countries. Objective of this paper is to discuss the various factors responsible for energy

options for substantial energy saving are related to increase in heat transfer area, heat

conservation in mini split air conditioners.

transfer coefficient, fan, ECM motor and SIZING OF ACcompressor. The cyclic changes should be One should go for cooling load calculation in cared for using variable speed compressors order to arrive for appropriate sized AC. A

along with electronic expansion valves. large sized air conditioner penalizes in the Refrigerants R410a, R407c may require following ways (i)It uses more energy.(ii).It replacement. The future AC will have better compressor and heat exchangers costs more to purchase than appropriate size

for AC.(iii).The oversized AC cycles (on and off) more frequently reduce its efficiency.

improved performance. Keywords Energy, mini split,

Air Frequent cycling makes indoor temperature to fluctuate more and results in less comfortable climate. It also inhibits

conditioner, COP, EER. INTRODUCTION

Air conditioner market in India is dominated dehumidification. It, in addition wears out by room ACs, which make up nearly 99% of the compressor and electrical parts more

the annual sales. Room air conditioner rapidly. [2] demand is growing rapidly at rate of 20% on PURCHASE

average per year over last ten years. Phadke Purchase an AC with Energy saving features et.al. [1] have estimated that adoption of such as i) Digital readout for thermostat efficient ACs can avoid building more than 100 new power plants. In the financial year 2011-12, split units accounted for 75% of the total room AC sales, while the window units setting, ii) A built in timer, iii) A filter that slides out easily for regular cleaning. [3] INSTALLATION

(i). Direct sunshine on condenser decreases

70% effective as preceding row. For systems

efficiency by as much as 10%.(ii) Minimize working with R-410A, the trend is to use air leakage by fitting the drain pipe and number of rows to 2 or 3 rows. Addition of tubings snugly into its opening and sealing horizontal row is limited by chassis size, gaps with Caulk .(iii) The use of longer tube length and more bends between indoor and outdoor increase energy consumption. OPERATION (i)Set AC thermostat settings properly, AC uses 3 to 5 percent less energy for each issue of weight and refrigerant charge. Fin density optimization Fin density should be optimized with regards to improvement in heat transfer, effect on fan power, water drainage and dirt build up. The fin density is a function of type of coil

degree set above 22C, therefore set the (evaporator or condenser), fin type (wavy, thermostat as high as is comfortably possible louvered, enhanced), number of tube rows

in summer (25- 27c) [4 ].(ii)Fan speeds are and tube diameter. Current fin densities are available in 2 or 3 options. Set the fan speed around 7/cm. on high, except on very humid day. Consider Sub cooler addition of sub cooler between

an interior fan in conjunction with AC which The

allows one to set thermostat temperature condenser outlet and capillary inlet will higher and thus reduces the energy increase the size of condenser coil. The consumption. (iii) Dont place lamps near addition of sub cooler may be possible if AC thermostat. This may cause AC to run longer. DESIGN OPTIONS Increase frontal coil area Enhancing frontal area in either of the coil results in increased efficiency of the entire system. In order to have adequate adequate area is available otherwise the size of air conditioner will increase thereby resulting in increased initial cost. Improve fin design Enhancements to the fin design have the effect of improving coils airside heat transfer coefficient thereby increase in overall heat

dehumidification at least 25% of the capacity transfer capability of coil. The increase is should be allotted for dehumidification. The partly due to increased air turbulence over frontal area of coil cannot be increased beyond a limit because it increases cabinet size. Increase depth of coil coil caused by enhanced fin design. The fin improvement can be achieved by using a corrugated or wavy fin pattern or a louvered or lanced fin pattern. Recent progress also

Vertical tube rows may be at the most 3 includes decrease of the fin thickness. The because each successive row in a coil is only fin thickness is around 0.1mm.

Improved tube design The refrigerant side heat transfer coefficient with grooved tubing is greater than that for smooth tubing. Improvement of refrigerant heat transfer coefficient with grooved tubing

The addition of the hydrophilic coating on the heat exchanger fins reduces the thickness of the condensate layer and enables an increased ability for the water to drain off the fins allowing a reduced air side pressure drop

is a function of width, height and spacing of and an increased airflow across the heat grooves as well as oil concentration within the refrigerant. The effect of refrigerant exchanger. The use of such hydrophilic film coating on the heat exchanger fins can reduce

pressure drop should be optimized. Tube the pressure drop between 20-50% when diameters currently used are 7mm.Data from operating in high humidity room-side air Chinese texts on AC is given in Table 1 environments. Therefore cooling capacity is which summarizes the heat transfer and improved as compared to air conditioning pressure drop enhancement factors. The systems using untreated fins. enhancement factors are relative to flat fins and smooth tubing (i.e., flat fins and smooth tubing have heat transfer and pressure drop Fan & fan motor The evaporator fan is usually a blower wheel (centrifugal forward curved fan) while The

enhancement factors of 1.0).The value used condenser fan is propeller typed. for the heat transfer enhancement factor is

evaporator and condenser fan motor consume

the multiplication factor for air-side heat- 3% and 7 respectively of total energy transfer coefficient of the coil.[5] Table 1 Heat transfer and Pressure drop Enhancement factor
Design Heat Transfer Enhance ment Factor 1.12 1.5 1.8 2.4 1.11 1.44 1.57 2.2 Pressure drop Enhancement Factor

consumption of room AC. Propeller fans previously made of processed metals, are now made of plastics. The shape of blade must be such that it should increase the volumetric efficiency and decrease the noise level. Opportunities for conserving energy

EVAPORATOR Wavy Fin smooth Slit Fin smooth Slit Fin groove Groove tube CONDENSOR Wavy Fin smooth Slit Fin groove Slit Fin groove Groove tube

1.05 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.05 1.25 1.25 1.4

are

also

available

by

improving

the

efficiency of air delivery system and fan motor. Improving fan motor efficiency

results in additional compressor energy saving. Fan motors are PSC motors having efficiency in the range of 50% to 60 are used. ECM has the efficiency in range of 70 to 80%. In an ECM power is pulsed on and off electronically. By varying the timing and

Hydrophilic film coating on fins

duration of pulses, the electronic controller

Compressor efficiency is improved through

can accomplish speed control as well as the use of high efficiency motors, high grade maintain high torque at the start and over a materials in the pumping mechanism

broad speed range. [6] The cost of ECM is 5 combined with advance production methods times more and noise, vibration & power and equipment. Progresses have been made consumption are lesser. Micro channel heat exchangers MCHX give improved performance in same volume as that of conventional heat to reduce friction losses in rotary

compressors. DAIKIN Swing compressor has 15 % higher global efficiency. Other manufacturers have adopted twin rotary

exchanger with cheaper cost (30 % less). The compressor which enables to improve the smaller size of the exchanger reduces refrigerant pressure drop, improving overall efficiency by 10 %. [8] Advantages of scroll over reciprocating are (i) Highest volumetric

compressor performance. However, MCHX efficiency- approximately 100%, 10% to 20 also have weaknesses, such as large pressure drop, high cost of manufacture, dirt clogging, higher EER, (ii) Low sound characteristics- 5 decibels lower than reciprocating,(iii)

and flow mal-distribution, especially for two- Smoother and continuous compared to rapid phase flows. Smaller condenser weight and piston movement and which ensures low pulse.

refrigerant charge (45% less) in micro vibration channel heat exchangers reduce the thermal mass of the heat exchanger, and therefore contribute to better seasonal performance.

lower

discharge

Outstanding reliability with regards to lower failure rate and tolerance to liquid refrigerant as well as debris. Scroll compressors are 15-

Atthakorn and Worrasid [7] performed the 20% more costly as compared to rotary test on 1.5 TR split AC unit results showed that as the condenser air inlet temperatures compressors. [9] Developments of linear compressors for air conditioners will be able

increased from 35oC to 38 and to 42oC, the to decrease motor losses and increase effectiveness of MCHX condenser were compression efficiencies. However, no linear higher by 3.66%, 5.65 and 3.64, respectively. The EERs of the split AC system with the MCHX condenser were higher as the condenser air inlet temperatures were compressor is presently commercially

available for air conditioners. Variable speed compressors A compressor working with variable speed

increased from 35oC to 38oC and to 42oC by motor and its speed modulated to match the 1.14%, 3.08 and 2.8 respectively. Improved compressor efficiency load offers the advantage of substantial reduction in power consumption and increase in EER by 1.2. Advantages of variable speed

compressors are (i) Quieter Operation at low speeds. (ii) Enhanced comfort by eliminating

sells split systems with R 290. DAIKIN and PANASONIC offer split system with

large fluctuations in room temperature. The R32.Another Alternative R 407C can be used control of variable speed compressors is ASD at the motor. Converter based ASDs are used for ECM motors. ASD perform well drop in substitute.

accomplished through the use of electronic Electronic expansion valves As compared to capillary the TXV can adapt better to changes in operating conditions

both with rotary and scroll compressors. The such as those due to variation in ambient major benefits of the inverter air conditioning temperatures, which affect the condensing system include excellent thermal comfort, noiseless, and precise controllability. In addition, provides an not inverter-driven only precise temperature. TXV can lead to small

variations around the set point depending on

conditioner the evaporating pressure. Moreover, at very capacity low load, there are stability problems that may lead to the shunting of the valve and significant energy losses. The EXV enables a correct and adaptable level of throttling. This

modulation, but also energy saving.[10] Alternative refrigerants Currently, the main refrigerants used in

household AC are HCFC R-22, and HFC, enables the efficient control of the refrigerant mostly R-410A. At present, the most common internationally-applied alternative flow, depending on the operating state. The operating characteristics are similar to the

for room air conditioners is HFC R-410A; TXV except for the increased precision however this refrigerant has a high GWP of 2088. Concerns and increasing demands for protection of the climate, high achieved by the EXV which in turn enables lower superheat values and the ability to

GWP overcome the limits of the TXVs thermo-

alternatives are facing elimination in the mechanical design. As is the case with the medium to long-term. Compared with variable speed compressors, the key benefit of electronic expansion valves is the

HCFCs and HFCs, HC refrigerants offer zero ODP and negligible GWP and, in regard to

improvement of seasonal energy efficiency.

their performance, they offer in general: high An added benefit of the electronic expansion efficiency, miscibility reduced with charge mineral sizes, oils, good valve (as with TXV with hermetic closure) is

lower the capability to stop refrigerant migration and under on/off cycling or when the unit is off. heat also Other losses i. side louvers

compressor discharge better heat

temperatures, within R32 are

transfer and

exchangers.R290

alternatives for R-22.In India GODREJ now

Units without side louvers operate at a lower

upon modification cost and energy saved.

efficiency due to additional compressor Improvement in compressor EER may be the power (around 4%) required to compensate first priority followed by use of better heat the decreased air flow over the condenser coil. ii. Discharge air recirculation heat loss Short circuiting of discharge air into the AC reduces heat content of the mixture, thereby reducing capacity (around 6%). iii. Reversing valve The reversing valve adds an additional load to the system that increases the units power requirement by an estimated 5%. iv. Suction line heat gain The suction line heat gain can be reduced by better insulation on suction line. v Evaporative cooling Sometimes, in high ambient air temperature (50
0

exchangers. Our nation has taken a welcome step by improving BEE star label for room AC from January 2014. References [1] Nihar Shah, Paul Waide, Amol Phadke Cooling the Planet:

Opportunities for Deployment of Superefficient Room Air

Conditioners LBNL-XXXX [2] Consumer energy information

Energy efficiency and renewable energy network fact sheet. [3] Room air conditioner energy efficiency and renewable energy. [4] Guide on energy efficient Room air conditioner. [5] Technical and economic analysis of energy efficiency of Chinese room air conditioner, February 2001 LBNL 4555O ,29 [6] Brushless DC motors Trane Engineers Newsletter vol.334 [7] Atthakorn Chaikhumrop and

air

conditioner

trip

down.

Improvement of system performance in a split-type air conditioner with various types of evaporative cooling systems was

experimented by Chainarong and Peachrakha [11], the conclusions were: (i). Ambient temperature has much influenced the power consumption of compressor and COP. When ambient temperature is raised by 1 C, power consumption increases by around 4%. (ii). Due to evaporative cooling power
O

Worrasid Trutassanawin, Study, and Testing of a Split- Type Air Conditioner by Using Microchannel Condenser.The Second TSME International Conference Mech. Engg.October 19-21, 2011, Krabi [8] Preparatory study on environmental performance of residential room

consumption decreases by around 15%, and COPR increases up to 45%. Conclusion The various methods of energy conservation are discussed. The design adoption depends

conditioning appliances. Draft report of Task 6 July 2008 [9]Analysis of the impact of super efficiency on AC manufacturers /suppliers in India- pwc November 2012. [10] Ing Chen, Y.Chen, C.Wei , C. Wang , A comparative study between a constant-speed air-conditioner and a variable-speed air-conditioner. ashrae transactions jan 2009

[11] Chainarong Chaktranonda, and Peachrakha Doungsonga

An Experimental Evaluation of Energy Saving in a Split-type Air Conditioner with Evaporative Cooling Systems 2010 International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies Volume 1 No.1. eISSN: 1906-9642

012November 2012