Superinsulation in refrigerators and freezers

The results presented here were obtained during Phase 4 of the first CRADA, which had the specific objective of determining the lifetime of superinsulations when installed in simulated refrigerator doors. The second CRADA was established to evaluate and test design concepts proposed to significantly reduce energy consumption in a refrigerator-freezer that is representative of approximately 60% of the US market. The stated goal of this CRADA is to demonstrate advanced technologies which reduce, by 50%, the 1993 National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) standard energy consumption for a 20 ft{sup 3} (570 L) top-mount, automatic-defrost, refrigerator-freezer. For a unit this size, the goal translates to an energy consumption of 1.003 kWh/d. The general objective of the research is to facilitate the introduction of efficient appliances by demonstrating design changes that can be effectively incorporated into new products. In previous work on this project, a Phase 1 prototype refrigerator-freezer achieved an energy consumption of 1.413 kWh/d [Vineyard, et al., 1995]. Following discussions with an advisory group comprised of all the major refrigerator-freezer manufacturers, several options were considered for the Phase 2 effort, one of which was cabinet heat load reductions.