Influence of Heat Exchangers and Compressor Performance on Domestic Split-Type Air Conditioner System Performance Monitoring and Prediction

Monitoring and predicting the performance of air conditioning (AC) systems have been a daunting task. This is as a result of system operation complexity owing to the huge number of dynamic factors influencing the system’s operation. Nevertheless, there is a dire need to monitor and predict the performance of the system in order to ascertain with high level of certainty the energetic, financial and human comfort impact of this technology. It is in this light that this paper analyses the performance of main AC system components in order to qualitatively and quantitatively ascertain how their performances influence the overall AC performance and to what degree of accuracy these factors can predict system performance. This was achieved via investigating the influence of Rcom, Pcon and Pevp on the AC heating and cooling COP and energy consumed (COPh, COPc, Eh and Ec). Data was obtained from an experimental set up installed in a residential home in Alice, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It was observed that for this system, COP is greatly influenced by the performance of the heat exchangers more than performance of compressor. Energy consumed by the system is greatly influenced by the compressor performance or efficiency. Among the two heat exchanger performances, heating energy is affected by condenser performance more, while cooling energy is affected by evaporator performance more. The developed models had correlation and determination coefficient range up to 0.98, hence, a high degree of proximity between predicted and actual response. This goes to show that heat exchangers and compressor performance do not only greatly influence system performance but can also be used to accurately monitor and predict the performance of a domestic split-type AC with an eminent degree of accuracy.