Building Science Projects

Passive Refrigeration

This project looked at ways to use the cold temperatures during Alaska winters to lower the electrical demands of residential refrigerators and freezers. CCHRC worked with industry partners to test a prototype of a passive refrigerator/freezer that used electricity only when the outdoor air temperature is too warm to sustain refrigerator temperatures.

The unit was installed in the south lab of the Research and Testing Facility and monitored for interior temperature and energy use. The test fridge used 16% less energy over the course of one year than a high efficiency Energy Star fridge. This paper covers the purpose of the study, the performance of the test fridge, and ideas for future research and application of this technology.

Resources

TitleTypeResource Link
Passive Refrigeration ReportReports

Download

Partners

Related Projects