Refrigerator Energy Consumption Test Results Using the United States Department of Energy and International Organization for Standardization Test Procedures

Published

January 1, 2003

Author(s)

David A. Yashar

Abstract

This investigation compares the energy consumption ratings obtained for refrigerators using the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) HRF-1 test procedure, as adopted by the United States Department of Energy (DOE), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) equivalent test procedures (ISO 8561 and ISO 7371). Tests were performed on four different units according to both the DOE test procedure and the appropriate ISO test procedure. These units included two household kitchen-type, automatic defrost refrigerator-freezers, one of each body style that is prevalent in the US (one unit with the top mounted freezer compartment and the other unit with the refrigerator and freezer compartments in a side-by-side configuration). A top mount, automatic defrost refrigerator freezer which employs many novel energy saving devices and techniques was also tested. The final unit tested was a manual defrost refrigerator, as this is a popular design in many European countries. The results showed that the energy consumption ratings found for automatic defrost refrigerator-freezers under the DOE tests were 25.0 % to 29.4 % higher than the results obtained with the ISO tests. For the manual defrost model, the tests showed that the DOE test produced a value which was 33 % higher than that found by the ISO test. The results were then compared to the findings of a previous study conducted at the University of Auckland.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 6945

Report Number

6945

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

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Keywords

AHAM HRF-1, energy consumption test, ISO 7371, ISO 8561, refrigerator

Citation

Yashar, D. (2003), Refrigerator Energy Consumption Test Results Using the United States Department of Energy and International Organization for Standardization Test Procedures, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=860894 (Accessed April 24, 2024)