Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, cilt.65, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
Thermal energy storage can provide a sustainable energy supply by reducing energy interruptions, and it helps balance energy demand and production. In this study, a new latent heat energy storage unit was developed and tested to evaluate the waste heat of the refrigeration system. The annular fins tubes were designed to store thermal energy efficiently, and paraffin was employed. Experiments were conducted under three different compressor operating modes (continuous-Exp. 1, on/off-Exp. 2, and long on/off cycles-Exp. 3), and the paraffin's charging and discharging processes were observed. According to these experimental results, Exp. 2, which achieved the highest coefficient of performance (COP) value of 3.92, stored 89.97 Wh of thermal energy and exhibited the longest melting duration of 202 min. These findings indicate that Exp. 2 demonstrated the most effective performance in terms of both energy efficiency and melting duration. In Exp. 1, when the COP was 3.26, 91.29 Wh of thermal energy was stored, and the melting time was recorded as 53 min. In Exp. 3, with a COP of 3.13, the stored thermal energy decreased to 82.73 Wh, and the melting time was 51 min. Additionally, the average ratio of the daily energy stored in the TESU to the total energy consumption of the refrigeration system was determined to be 16.53 %. Environmental analysis revealed an average carbon emissions reduction of 393.522 kgCO2/year. The payback period of the system was calculated to be 3.1 years. In addition, regression analysis was performed and the effect of paraffin temperatures on energy consumption was found. These findings demonstrate paraffin-based systems’ potential to improve energy efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and guide future improvements in refrigeration system designs.