A cost-based method for comparing alternative refrigerants applied to R-22 systems

This paper describes the development and application of a general purpose method for comparing alternative refrigerants. The method utilizes a single performance index based upon minimum cost for a simplified system operating with a given cooling capacity and efficiency. The cost-based method is an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of refrigeration 1999-03, Vol.22 (2), p.107-125
Main Authors: DOUGLAS, J. D, BRAUN, J. E, GROLL, E. A, TREE, D. R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Computer aided analysis
Computer simulation
Cost effectiveness
Energy
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Exact sciences and technology
Heat exchangers
Refrigerants
Refrigerating engineering
Refrigerating engineering. Cryogenics. Food conservation
Refrigeration
Thermodynamic properties
Transport properties
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Summary:This paper describes the development and application of a general purpose method for comparing alternative refrigerants. The method utilizes a single performance index based upon minimum cost for a simplified system operating with a given cooling capacity and efficiency. The cost-based method is an improvement over other methods for evaluating refrigerants in that it more appropriately considers the influence of both thermodynamic and transport properties on refrigerant choice and it allows consideration of additional costs associated with some replacements (e.g. safety features for flammable refrigerants). A computer model based upon this method was used to evaluate the performance of several leading R-22 replacement candidates for window air conditioners. Primarily, the cost differences between alternative refrigerants are associated with the heat exchangers and the refrigerant/oil requirements. The cost differences associated with different compressor displacement requirements were found to have a minor influence on overall cost differences. For the optimized systems, all of the alternatives had system costs that were within about 4% of those for R-22. Further, the differences between most of the alternative refrigerants were smaller than the uncertainties in the analysis.
ISSN:0140-7007
1879-2081
DOI:10.1016/S0140-7007(98)00045-0