Cooling efficiency: Analyzing cooling rates and recovery times in a cold room located in HVAC laboratory

M. Gunasagran, Seellann (2025) Cooling efficiency: Analyzing cooling rates and recovery times in a cold room located in HVAC laboratory. Project Report. Melaka, Malaysia, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka. (Submitted)

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Abstract

This study investigates the performance evaluation of an air conditioning system following the ISO 5151 standard. The research highlights the challenges faced by non-commercial entities, such as universities and individual users, in conducting such evaluations due to the high costs associated with specialized facilities, equipment, and calibration processes. These resources are often limited and expensive, making them inaccessible to many. To address this, the study adopts a methodology that leverages a laboratory chamber designed to simulate the functionality of an ISO 5151-compliant testing environment. The chamber's thermostat was set to 20°C and 27°C for dry bulb temperatures, aligning closely with the ISO 5151 standard of 27°C. However, a key limitation of this approach was the inability of the chamber to control wet bulb temperature, which is a critical parameter in ISO 5151 testing. The experimental setup involved testing a cold room with specifications including the use of R-410A refrigerant, an inverter system, and a total volume of 4.3218 m³. The cold room was evaluated under two scenarios: with and without simulated load conditions. The results revealed that both the 20°C and 27°C thermostat settings yielded a consistent cooling performance efficiency of 33.65%. The findings of this research demonstrate that laboratory chambers can serve as viable alternatives for assessing the cooling capacity of air conditioning units, particularly for non-commercial applications. This approach offers a cost-effective solution for performance evaluation while adhering to the principles of the ISO 5151 standard. The study concludes that despite certain limitations, such as the inability to regulate wet bulb temperature, laboratory-based testing provides valuable insights into the cooling performance of air conditioning systems.

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