Experimental characterization of single and dual compressor domestic refrigerators with similar feature according to energy index

It is quite difficult to seperate the freezer compartment completely from the fresh food compartment in a single-compressor refrigerator that has at least two doors, in practice. The user might want to set different temperatures for each compartment. In this case, in a single compressor system, the compressor works intensively to cool the freezer compartment. This also alters the temperature of the fresh food compartment. Controlling the temperature of the compartments separately became one of the objectives of the industry and refrigerators with two different compressors and two cycles has become a subject of interest recently. Seperately temperature-controlled cooling system of fresh food and freezer compartments is planned to adapt to the new European energy regulation that will become effective in 2020 and to increase user satisfaction. The cooling system is similar to the refrigerators in use; however the cooling is achieved with two different compressors for two cycles. In this study, energy index calculations of single-compressor and double-compressor domestic refrigerators with approximate volumes are performed using experimental data, with reference to IEC 62552 and ISO 15502 standards. The calculations are based on the heat gains of the cabinets. COP values of the compressors are similar. The performance tests are performed at Arçelik A.Ş. Refrigerator Plant. The calculations based on the experiments show that the energy indices of single and dual compressor refrigerators are 32.69 and 28.29 respectively.