Optimization of small window type air conditioner

Domestic air conditioning is most prevalent and ubiquitous in developed Asian and Middle Eastern nations and territories. But the bad side of the home air conditioners is that they consume substantial amount of energy. Reduction of energy consumption is a major concern in the vapor compression refrigeration system especially in the area with very hot weather conditions where window-air-conditioners are usually used to cool homes. In this weather condition performance of air condenser window-air-conditioners decreases sharply and electrical power consumption increases considerably. Some research has been focused on optimizing medium to large capacity refrigeration systems, considering both materials cost and operating costs, no such study has yet been done for a small system like the window air conditioner. In this work, an attempt has been made to find the optimum operating condition i.e. the minimum power requirement and hence the minimum cost of operation during typical summer days when the ambient temperature varies within a certain range. An economic comparison between thermostatic expansion device and capillary tube expansion device has been presented here.