In 2019, the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) began testing residential refrigerator-freezers to better understand the potential energy efficiency benefits of inverter-driven, multi-speed compressors and quantify if the existing U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) testing methodology adequately captures those potential benefits. Currently, the U.S. DOE test methodology does not entirely align with the test procedure used by most other major markets globally. This study seeks to compare the currently available test methods to identify opportunities for improvement and alignment.
NEEA contracted with UL Verification Services to test a total of six refrigerators: three side-by-side models of similar capacity, one with an inverter compressor and two with conventional compressors. Additionally, three French door models also with similar capacities, two with inverter compressors and one with conventional compressors, were also tested. To understand the test results, NEEA contracted with Energy Efficient Strategies Ltd. to analyze the data. Energy Efficient Strategies conducted a thorough comparison of the two methods the refrigerators were tested against, the U.S. DOE’s CFR 430 method and IEC 62552. This comparison sought to outline their similarities, identify any deficiencies in each approach, and highlight opportunities to increase alignment between the methods.
