Evaporator and Condenser Fan Speed Control by Varying Cooling Load in Vapor Compression Refrigeration System

Nowadays, a lot of air conditioners use vapor compression refrigeration systems. Behind its function in supporting human needs, refrigeration systems have an impact on increasing electricity consumption. Efforts to save energy in cooling equipment are carried out by increasing its efficiency. One of them is by adding a control system to the fan motor in the evaporator and condenser sections and considering aspects of the cooling load of the refrigeration system itself. This study was conducted to find out more about the performance of the vapor compression refrigeration system with varying evaporator and condenser fan speeds. The fan speed control system uses a VSD (variable speed drive) combined with a servo motor and Arduino Uno R3. Three 5W incandescent light bulbs are placed in the evaporator air inlet, which is used as a cooling load. The final result obtained is that the most optimal control system for the vapor compression refrigeration system is the VSD control system where the electrical energy consumption is lower (which is 0.6 kW) compared to the on-off control system (which is 0.8 kW). Variations in cooling load have a significant effect on air temperature in vapor compression refrigeration systems.