In: Mechanical Engineering
It is often stated that the refrigerator door should be opened as few times as possible for the shortest duration of time to save energy. Consider a household refrigerator that have an average internal temperature of 4o C. Assume that one-third of the refrigerated space is occupied by food items, and the remaining is filled with air. Given that the moisture contents of the air in the kitchen and the refrigerator are 0.010 and 0.004 kg per kg of air, respectively, and thus 0.006 kg of water vapor is condensed and removed for each kg of air that enters. The refrigerator door is opened an average of 30 times a day, and each time half of the air volume in the refrigerator is replaced by the warmer kitchen air. The refrigerator has a coefficient of performance of 1.5 and the cost of electricity is RM0.218/kWh in Malaysia.
Design the interior volume of the refrigerator and assume the average temperature and pressure in the kitchen. From your design, assumptions and the information given above, determine the cost of the energy wasted per year as a result of opening the refrigerator door.
Explain the changes on your results if the kitchen air were very dry and thus a negligible amount of water vapor condensed in the refrigerator.