亞得力科技股份有限公司

Motivation for Development

On the subject of energy waste, more emphasis has been given to the development of renewable energies, but if there was a better alternative for energy-saving equipment in our present conditions, it could also be considered as a solution to the current energy crisis. Therefore, the method presented in this study focuses on an energy-saving mode, the main applications being 110V/220V refrigeration equipment, and the reason to choose this research topic was the current market has no products aimed at energy efficiency in 110V/220V equipment, even though 110V/220V are the most common voltages found in everyday lives. Although the quantities of wasted electricity are small, but when considering the amount of equipment being used at any given time and the prolonged times of operation, the effects become more significant.

Due to the increasingly higher standards of living, and to the large increase of wholesale retailers, chain stores, and supermarkets in recent years, they all have the need of reliable refrigeration equipment to keep the freshness of their products, which need to maintain certain temperature conditions 24 hours a day, all year-round, increases the energy waste from commercial refrigeration equipment day by day, therefore, there is a need to perform energy management for refrigeration equipment.

According to the results of studies performed by the American APS commercial center on the electricity consumption of commercial refrigeration equipment, all refrigeration equipment have space for energy savings, as shown in table 1.

Table 1: The energy-saving potential for commercial refrigeration equipment

Technique	Energy-saving potential
Standing fridges	50%
Drink-producing machines	45%
Refrigerated vending machines	42%
Standing freezers	40%
Walk in coolers	32%
Ice making machines	20%
Grocery store systems	14%

Source：APS

Principles of Technology

This product works on changing the power supply and loading conditions, by using phase control properties of TRIACs as shown in figure 1. It can achieve the goals of voltage and power reduction, and the RPM in refrigeration equipment compressors is kept constant. When system arrives to the desired set temperature, the compressor will stop operation, and output power will change according to the different loading conditions of the refrigerator, therefore the energy waste by the compressor is unstable. Nowadays, there are many energy-saving options available in the market, such as: inverter-controlled compressors, the use of evaporative condensers, unstable high voltage control, installation of high-efficiency electronic expansion valves, etc.; all these methods all have a certain energy-saving effect, but in engineering required for operation is greater, so the cost is higher.

The present study puts emphasis in developing a low cost product with a simple design, therefore the product only needs to be connected between the power outlet and the load equipment, and it will achieve energy savings of about 15%. The following points will elaborate on the working techniques of the product.

The product uses a TRIAC as a working device, so the principles of TRIAC will be discussed first. The Tri-electrode AC switch (TRIAC) is a 3-node AC switch, which is also called a bidirectional tri-gate flow device. Its operation is similar to that of SCR (Silicon-Controlled Rectifiers), but the biggest difference being that TRIAC are bidirectional and allow flow under either positive or negative voltage. The product can be divided in automatic and manual mode. In the automatic mode, the system relies on in-house written code to trace the changes in voltage and current, and calculate the controlled cut of the phase angle; with the flip of a switch, we can enter in to manual mode and by the use of a variable resistance, the phase angle can be controlled.

Figure 1. (a) TRIAC voltage waveform, (b) load voltage waveform.

Testing results in actual refrigeration systems:

Figure 2 shows the connection diagram for this product. The product only need to be connected in between a power outlet and the load equipment, the operation is simple and convenient, and does not need costly and long installations like other methods of improvement (such as installation of inverters), therefore the functionality of this technology is evident.

Figure 2. Connection diagram for this product (Smart energy saving control box).

Figure 3 shows the experimental results of this study, performed on the compressor of a refrigeration system; it presents the data from operation under a 15 ° phase angle mode, and the achieved energy efficiency is about 11.19%.

Figure 3. Diagram of changes in power.

PowerSaving Cube

Product Characteristics

The VT technology was specifically designed for use in single-phase compressors. It not only saves waste electrical energy in compressors, but also provides the compressor with many protection features, such as high voltage protection, low voltage protection, super-low voltage protection, current overload protection, super-high current overload protection, and delayed start. These characteristics not only provide compressor protection features, but also effectively eliminate the need for heat-sensitive overload designs.

● Low voltage bypass:：

* 120VAC rated voltage: When the input supply voltage runs under 100VAC, the system will automatically stop the energy-saving operation (indicator light blinks rapidly), and full voltage is supplied. When the supply voltage increases back to 103VAC or more, the system automatically re-starts energy-saving operation.

* 220VAC rated voltage: When the input supply voltage runs under 195VAC, the system will automatically stop the energy-saving operation (indicator light blinks rapidly), and full voltage is supplied. When the supply voltage increases back to 200VAC or more, the system automatically re-starts energy-saving operation.

* 240VAC rated voltage: When the input supply voltage runs under 205VAC, the system will automatically stop the energy-saving operation (indicator light blinks rapidly), and full voltage is supplied. When the supply voltage increases back to 210VAC or more, the system automatically re-starts energy-saving operation.

● Super-low voltage protection:

* 120VAC rated voltage: When the input supply voltage runs under 95VAC for 3 minutes continuously, the system will automatically stop the energy-saving operation (indicator light blinks rapidly), and input is stopped. When the supply voltage increases back to 96VAC or more for 3 minutes continuously, the system automatically re-starts input and energy-saving operations.

* 220VAC rated voltage: When the input supply voltage runs under 190VAC for 3 minutes continuously, the system will automatically stop the energy-saving operation (indicator light blinks rapidly), and input is stopped. When the supply voltage increases back to 192VAC or more for 3 minutes continuously, the system automatically re-starts input and energy-saving operations.

* 240VAC rated voltage: When the input supply voltage runs under 200VAC for 3 minutes continuously, the system will automatically stop the energy-saving operation (indicator light blinks rapidly), and input is stopped. When the supply voltage increases back to 202VAC or more for 3 minutes continuously, the system automatically re-starts input and energy-saving operations.

● High voltage protection:

* 120VAC rated voltage: When the input supply voltage runs over 145VAC for 3 minutes continuously, the system will automatically stop the energy-saving operation (indicator light blinks rapidly), and input is stopped. When the supply voltage decreases back to 143VAC or under for 3 minutes continuously, the system automatically re-starts input and energy-saving operations.

* 220VAC rated voltage: When the input supply voltage runs over 290VAC for 3 minutes continuously, the system will automatically stop the energy-saving operation (indicator light blinks rapidly), and input is stopped. When the supply voltage decreases back to 288VAC or under for 3 minutes continuously, the system automatically re-starts input and energy-saving operations.

* 240VAC rated voltage: When the input supply voltage runs over 300VAC for 3 minutes continuously, the system will automatically stop the energy-saving operation (indicator light blinks rapidly), and input is stopped. When the supply voltage decreases back to 298VAC or under for 3 minutes continuously, the system automatically re-starts input and energy-saving operations.

● Low current protection:

* 10AMPS rated current: When the energy-saving equipment (in energy-saving state) operates under 0.75AMPS, the system will automatically stop the energy-saving operation (indicator light blinks rapidly), and full voltage is supplied. When current increases back to 1.0AMPS or over, the system automatically re-starts energy-saving operation.

* 15AMPS rated voltage: When the energy-saving equipment (in energy-saving state) operates under 1.5AMPS, the system will automatically stop the energy-saving operation (indicator light blinks rapidly), and full voltage is supplied. When current increases back to 2.0AMPS or over, the system automatically re-starts energy-saving operation.

● Current overload protection:

* 10AMPS rated current: When the operating current of the energy-saving equipment runs over 10AMPS for 3 minutes continuously, the motor will automatically stop operation (indicator light blinks rapidly). The higher the current increase, the quicker the motor stops. The output outlet automatically cuts off power to stop motor operation, and after 3 minutes, the system automatically re-starts the motor.

* 15AMPS rated voltage: When the operating current of the energy-saving equipment runs over 15AMPS for 3 minutes continuously, the motor will automatically stop operation (indicator light blinks rapidly). The higher the current increase, the quicker the motor stops. The output outlet automatically cuts off power to stop motor operation, and after 3 minutes, the system automatically re-starts the motor.

● Super-high current protection:

* 10AMPS rated current: When the operating current of the energy-saving equipment instantly increases 40AMPS and over, the output outlet automatically cuts off power, and motor will automatically stop operation (indicator light blinks rapidly). After 3 minutes, the system automatically re-starts the motor.

* 15AMPS rated voltage: When the operating current of the energy-saving equipment instantly increases 60AMPS and over, the output outlet automatically cuts off power, and motor will automatically stop operation (indicator light blinks rapidly). After 3 minutes, the system automatically re-starts the motor.

Method of Use

Product is connected by plugging for convenient use.

Applicable equipments

Because of market needs, there are many brands and models of coolers, freezers, and cold cabinets (for example: similar freezer models which have different HP, different voltages). The new technology developed can be applied to such equipment as shown below.
▼ Suitable equipment shown below

Horizontal freezers	Standing drinks fridges	Ice making machines	Supermarket cold cabinets

Stainless steel refrigerators	Cake display cabinets	Glass door refrigerated cabinets	Ice cream display freezers