Inverter-Type refrigerators are known to consume less energy by varying the inverter frequency according to indoor temperatures and refrigerant pressure through indoor-outdoor communication. However, many commercial operators cannot afford to replace indoor units with ones capable of communication. In a non-communication configuration, indoor units are connected with an inverter-type outdoor unit without intercommunication abilities. The research goal is finding appropriate operating parameters to achieve energy efficiency. Thus, an operation algorithm with two modes is proposed, i.e., one to search the best operating parameters and one for normal operation with the best parameters. The experimental evaluation showed 11.27% reduction in energy consumption, indicating a good applicability of the algorithm.

Unlike household refrigerators, commercial refrigerators are composed of separate indoor and outdoor units. The outdoor unit of most commercial refrigerators is designed to run at a fixed speed, which results in low energy efficiency and loud fan noise. Moreover, it cannot respond flexibly to changing thermal load in the indoor unit. Inverter type outdoor units can address such problems through speed changes based on information obtained from the indoor unit. However, using two units from different manufacturers is often not a viable solution. If condition changes in the indoor unit can be detected without communication between the two units, it is possible to adjust the speed of the outdoor unit. This paper attempts to analyze the signal from the outdoor unit when the condition of the indoor unit changes by varying the thermal load.