Intelligent Control Based on Usage Habits in a Domestic Refrigerator with Variable Speed Compressor for Energy-Saving

Juan M. Belman-Flores (), Donato Hernández-Fusilier, Juan J. García-Pabón and David A. Rodríguez-Valderrama
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Juan M. Belman-Flores: IRSE Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Division, Campus Irapuato-Salamanca, University of Guanajuato, Salamanca-Valle de Santiago km 3.5+1.8, Guanajuato 36885, Mexico
Donato Hernández-Fusilier: Department of Electronics Engineering, Engineering Division, Campus Irapuato-Salamanca, University of Guanajuato, Salamanca-Valle de Santiago km 3.5+1.8, Guanajuato 36885, Mexico
Juan J. García-Pabón: Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Itajubá (UNIFEI), Av. BPS, 1303, Itajubá 37500903, Brazil
David A. Rodríguez-Valderrama: IRSE Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Division, Campus Irapuato-Salamanca, University of Guanajuato, Salamanca-Valle de Santiago km 3.5+1.8, Guanajuato 36885, Mexico

Clean Technol., 2024, vol. 6, issue 2, 1-23

Abstract: Maintaining adequate temperatures for preserving food in a domestic refrigerator is a task that is affected by several factors, including the daily use of the appliance. In this sense, this work presents the development of a novel control system based on fuzzy logic that considers usage habits such as the amount of food entering the refrigerator and the frequency of opening doors. Thus, the control comprises input variables corresponding to the internal temperatures of both compartments, the thermal load entered, and the refrigerator door-opening signal. By simulating the usage habits of a refrigerator with a variable-speed compressor, the control performance was evaluated. The results showed that implementing fuzzy control using usage habits was robust enough to maintain adequate thermal conditions within the compartments and a lower thermal fluctuation concerning the reference control of the refrigerator (factory control). In terms of energy, the fuzzy control resulted in an energy saving of 3.20% with the refrigerator empty (without thermal load) compared to the reference control. On the other hand, the individual integration of the thermal load in the fuzzy control resulted in 2.08% energy savings and 5.45% for the integration of the thermal load compared to the reference control. Finally, considering the combination of usage habits, the fuzzy control presented a higher energy consumption than the reference control, around 9.7%. In this case, the fuzzy control maintained more favorable thermal conditions in both compartments, whereas the reference control presented a warmer thermal condition in the freezer.

Keywords: domestic refrigerator; energy; intelligent control; temperature; usage habits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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