A special device which transfer heat from

low temperature medium to high

temperature medium
A cyclic device
The working fluid is called refrigerant
Frequently used refrigeration cycle is called
vapor-compression refrigeration cycle
Consist of 4 main components
Compressor
Condenser
Expansion valve
Evaporator
1. The cycle starts when the
refrigerant enters the
compressor as a vapor and
compressed to condenser
pressure
2. It leaves the compressor at a
very high temperature and cools
down n condenses as it flows in
the coils of the condenser
(rejecting heat to the to the
surrounding medium, T
H
)
3. The refrigerant enters then
capillary tube (expansion valve)
where P and T reduced
drastically because of throttling
effect
4. Then it enters the evaporator
where its absorbs heat from the
refrigerated medium, T
L

The efficiency of a refrigerator is expressed in terms of COP.
The objective of a refrigerator is to remove heat (Q
L
) from
the refrigerated medium. To achieve this, it requires work
input, W
net,in

The COP of refrigerator is expressed,




And since,
The relation of COP
R
becomes
Another device used to transfer heat from low
temperature medium, T
L
to high temperature
medium, T
H
Both refrigerator and heat pump works in same
cycle however they have different objectives
The refrigerator aims to maintain refrigerated
medium at a low temperature meanwhile heat
pumps aims to maintain heated space at high
temperature which is achieved by absorbing heat
from low temperature source
E.g. the cold air outside during winter and heat
supplied to high temperature medium such as
the house.
The measure of performance of heat pump is expressed
by means of COP
HP

Which can also be expressed as,
Simplifying the equation using COP
R
,
Implies the COP
HP
is
always greater than
unity since COP
R
is a
positive quantity
Most existing heat pumps use the cold outside
air as the heat source in winter (air-source
HP).
Air conditioners are basically refrigerators
whose refrigerated space is a room or a
building instead of the food compartment.
The same air conditioning unit can be used as
heat pump during winter by installing in
backwards or if its equipped with a proper
controls and reversible valve.
In this mode, the unit absorbs heat from
outside and delivers it into the room.
Performance of air conditioner and heat pumps are
generally expressed in terms of Energy Efficiency Ratio
(EER) or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER)
SEER is ratio of total amount of heat removed in normal
cooling season to total amount of electricity consumed
(also a measure of seasonal performance of cooling
equipment)
EER measure of instantaneous energy efficiency
It is impossible to construct a device that operates
in a cycle and produces no effect other than the
transfer of heat from a lower-temperature body to
a higher-temperature body.
States that a refrigerator cannot operate unless its
compressor is driven by an external power source, e.g.,
an electric motor
Therefore, the net effect on the surroundings involves the
consumption of some energy in the form of work, in
addition to the transfer of heat from a colder body to a
warmer one.
The Kelvin-Planck and the Clausius
statements are equivalent in their
consequences
Either statement can be used as an
expression of the second law of
thermodynamics
Any devices that violates the Kelvin-Planck
statement also violates the Clausius
statement

Considering a heat engine-refrigerator combination,