%0 Conference Paper
%A Nihar Shah
%A Won Young Park
%A Nicholas Bojda
%A Michael A McNeil
%A Paul Waide
%B 2014 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings
%C Pacific Grove, Ca
%D 2014
%T Superefficient Refrigerators: Opportunities and Challenges for Efficiency Improvement Globally
%U https://aceee.org/files/proceedings/2014/data/papers/8-1072.pdf
%8 08/2014
%X <p>As an energy-intensive mainstream product, residential refrigerators present a significant<br />opportunity to reduce electricity consumption through energy efficiency improvements.<br />Refrigerators expend a considerable amount of electricity during normal use, typically<br />consuming between 100 to 1,000 kWh of electricity per annum. This paper presents the results of<br />a technical analysis done for refrigerators in support of the Super-efficient Equipment and<br />Appliance Deployment (SEAD) initiative. Beginning from a “base case” representative of the<br />average unit sold in India, we analyze efficiency improvement options and their corresponding<br />costs to build a cost-versus-efficiency relationship. We then consider design improvement<br />options that are known to be the most cost effective and that can improve efficiency given<br />current design configurations. We also analyze and present additional “super-efficient” options,<br />such as vacuum-insulated panels. We estimate the cost of conserved electricity for the various<br />options, allowing flexible program design for market transformation programs toward higher<br />efficiency. We estimate ~160TWh/year of energy savings are cost effective in 2030, indicating<br />significant potential for efficiency improvement in refrigerators in SEAD economies and China.</p>