An experimental investigation on the substitution of HFC134a with HFO1234YF in a domestic refrigerator

The latest international regulations on the reduction of greenhouse gases are strongly redesigning the scenario of use of refrigerants, gradually eliminating the possibility of employing the HFCs. Among all sectors of refrigeration, one of the most affected by these restrictions is the domestic refrigeration. Although for it have been suggested some solutions, such as the construction of household refrigerator operating with the hydrocarbons, there remains the need to find a substitute for HFC134a. In particular, the substitution may involve both existing machines and already in operation, which cannot be loaded with hydrocarbons, and new devices. With the aim of finding a simple implementation solution, in the present work, it is reported an experimental investigation carried out on a domestic refrigerator designed and built to operate with HFC134a and for which a drop-in with HFO1234yf has been realised. The experimentation has been addressed so as to highlight the behaviour of the system as a result of the drop-in, with a particular interest in the energy performance variation. A slight energy saving has been recorded with HFO1234yf, and an improving of the cooling capacity has been noticed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.