REVIEW PAPER ON EXPERIMENTAL PERFORMANCE INVESTIGATION OF HOUSEHOLD REFRIGERATOR WITH LATENT THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE

Refrigerators have increasingly been finding way in the Indian homes. Importantly, a large proportion of the Indian population still resides in such areas. A growing global environmental awareness and the rising cos ts of energy are driving the demand for the development of sustainable cooling technologies. It is estimated that refrigeration and air - conditioning are responsible for 15% of the global electricity consumption. Most governments have implemented minimum en ergy performance standards for household refrigerators and energy labeling programs to regulate the market and drive the search for innovative solutions, to further improve the efficiency of these appliances. Phase change materials (PCMs) are substances wi th high latent heat content that freeze and melt at a nearly constant temperature, accumulating or releasing large amounts of energy during the process. The application of PCMs in domestic refrigerators is a novel solution with the potential to improve the appliance efficiency. The cooling energy stored in the PCM can be used to cool the compartment, increasing the refrigerator energetic autonomy, while the power supply is switched off