Off-Grid Refrigeration - Project Description

Basic layout of refrigerator

Many homes in Northern Arizona, especially those off-grid, have poor quality power, this causes many problems with appliances. The problem that our group is focusing on is off-grid refrigeration. Our purpose is to design and build an off-grid refrigerator that can handle variable power situations, Arizona environmental conditions, and give the user good control over operation temperature and time through the use of a physical and/or phone application controller while being efficient and durable.

 

The purpose of this project as defined is: Research, Simulation, Design and Prototyping of Electrical Systems for Off-Grid Refrigerators. This means researching various systems, simulating them, configuring the design for our purposes, and prototyping our ideas and test them.

Contact Steph Beck at smb427@nau.edu

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Project Description

Problem Statement:

The problem presented to us is that off-grid refrigerators pull high start-up currents which disrupt the homes grid, as well as the off-grid system typically ruins the refrigerator after approximately 3 years due to the power quality.

 

System Diagram:

The figure below depicts the overall layout of the fridge. Two compressors will be used for this system. The fridge compressor is a solenoid and the freezer compressor is a motor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Requirements/Specifications

The system must be:

-Affordably priced for those off grid

-Have temperature controls that are easy to work by those who are not

technology savvy

-Have temperature controls that are sophisticated and capable of Bluetooth

communications with cellular device with installed application

-Reliable for at least three years

-Work in Arizona Environments including extremes

-Efficient at holding cool air inside

-Follow Refrigeration Safety Regulations