Refirigeration is a part of 21st-century life.

Refrigeration is crucial for the food sector because it

ensures optimal preservation of perishable foodstuffs and provides consumers with safe and
wholesome products. Refrigerated food processing, cold storage, refrigerated transport and
distribution are key elements of the food cold chain along with the retail and household handling of
chilled and frozen commodities. Absence of proper refrigeration may results in huge food waste and
thereby economic losses. Air conditioning is another essential part of the refrigeration sector. Hot
areas and zones with high air humidity underwent remarkable economic development due to the

introduction and expansion of air-conditioning technologies over the past 60 to 70 years. Using air
conditioners and electric fans to stay cool already accounts for around 10% of all global
electricity consumption today. As developing world incomes rises and urbanisation advances,
worldwide power consumption for air conditioning alone is forecast to surge several fold by
2100, particularly in the hotter regions of the world. Mobile air conditioning is
expanding at an even higher pace since most new vehicles currently sold are air-conditioned . In
terms of energy efficiency, additional fuel consumption when driving with the AC switched
on can be up to 20%. Another sector where refrigeration is indispensable is the healthcare sector,
since it preserves pharmaceuticals and medicines, especially vaccines. New treatments, such as
cryosurgery or cryotherapy, were developed due to ultra-low temperature technologies. There are
many other applications of refrigeration and AC such as i ndustries such as steel, chemicals and
plastics depend on cooling; data centres would collapse if the temperature and humidity are
not maintained within specified limits. Though the efficiency of the refrigeration and air-
conditioning systems have improved in the last decade but at the same time, the demand for
air conditioning, refrigeration has surged even more. This in turn has caused growing
electricity demand, which has raised concerns over depletion of energy resources. Thus research
in the field of refrigeration sector is an extreme necessity. Thus is it an extreme necessity to
develop more efficient AC and refrigeration systems.
Cooling in most refrigeration and AC systems is achieved via a simple refrigeration
cycle, having four basic components- the condenser, compressor, an expansion device and
the evaporator. It is in the evaporators where the actual cooling effect takes place in these
systems. Different types of evaporators are used for different purposes. For air cooling, bare
tubes were used in the earliest evaporators, but they are used in limited applications
nowadays since they have a small surface area to volume ratio. In the evaporators for air
cooling, the dominant thermal resistance is on the air side since the heat transfer coefficient
on the air side is much lower than that on the refrigerant side. So, one best way to increase
the heat transfer capacity of the bare tube evaporators is to attach to its outer surface,
extended surfaces called fins. These finned evaporators are the most commonly used in
refrigeration and AC apparatuses nowadays. Fig. shows a finned evaporator coil of an AC
systems. Finning reduces the size of the evaporator, improves the heat transfer capacity and
hence performance of these evaporators. Beacuse of the increase in surface area, for the
same capacity, a finned coil will be much smaller than the bare tube evaporator.

It is always desired to reduce the size of evaporator

The heat transfer mechanism of fin is to conduct heat from heat source to the fin surface by
its thermal conduction, and then
dissipate heat to the air by the effect of thermal convection and radiation. In recent years, an
accurate analysis of heat transfer in extended surfaces has become crucial with the growing
significance of high performance of heat transfer surfaces with progressively smaller weights,
volumes, initial and running cost of the systems.

1.2 Dehumidification in wet fins

Refrigeration plays a major and increasing role in the field of ade in food, health, energy, afood
industry to air conditioning, household refrigeration. In the healthcare sector, refrigeration
preserves pharmaceuticals and medicines, especially vaccines. New treatments, such as cryosurgery
or cryotherapy, were developed due to ultra-low temperature technologies. Refrigeration is
employed in numerous manufacturing processes found in food and drink industries, chemistry,
plastic processing, and many other sectors.
he growing use of air conditioners in homes and offices around the world
will be one of the top drivers of global electricity demand over the next
three decades, according to new analysis by the International Energy
Agency that stresses the urgent need for policy action to improve cooling
efficiency.

Global energy demand from air conditioners is expected to triple by 2050,

requiring new electricity capacity the equivalent to the combined electricity
capacity of the United States, the EU and Japan today. The global stock of
air conditioners in buildings will grow to 5.6 billion by 2050, up from 1.6
billion today – which amounts to 10 new ACs sold every second for the
next 30 years, according to the report.

Using air conditioners and electric fans to stay cool already accounts for
around 10% of all global electricity consumption today. But as incomes and
living standards improve in many developing countries, the growth in AC
demand in hotter regions is set to soar. AC use is expected to be the
second-largest source of global electricity demand growth after the industry
sector, and the strongest driver for buildings by 2050.

Supplying power to these ACs comes with large costs and environmental
implications. One crucial factor is that the efficiency of these new ACs can
vary widely. For example, ACs sold in Japan and the European Union are
typically 25% more efficient than those sold in the United States and China.
Efficiency improvements could cut the energy growth from AC demand in
half through mandatory energy performance standards.

“Growing electricity demand for air conditioning is one of the most critical
blind spots in today’s energy debate,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the Executive
Director of the IEA. “With rising incomes, air conditioner ownership will
skyrocket, especially in the emerging world. While this will bring extra
comfort and improve daily lives, it is essential that efficiency performance
for ACs be prioritized. Standards for the bulk of these new ACs are much
lower than where they should be.” 
The report identifies key policy actions. In an Efficient Cooling Scenario,
which is compatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement, the IEA finds
that through stringent minimum energy performance standards and other
measures such as labelling, the average energy efficiency of the stock of
ACs worldwide could more than double between now and 2050. This would
greatly reduce the need to build new electricity infrastructure to meet rising
demand. 

Making cooling more efficient would also yield multiple benefits, making it
more affordable, more secure, and more sustainable, and saving as much
as USD 2.9 trillion in investment, fuel and operating costs.

The rise in cooling demand will be particularly important in the hotter

regions of the world.

Today, less than a third of global households own an air conditioner. In

countries such as the United States and Japan, more than 90% of
households have air conditioning, compared to just 8% of the 2.8 billion
people living in the hottest parts of the world.

The issue is particularly sensitive in the fastest-growing nations, with the

biggest increase happening in hot countries like India – where the share of
AC in peak electricity load could reach 45% in 2050, up from 10% today
without action. This will require large investments in new power plants to
meet peak power demand at night, which cannot be met with solar PV
technology. 

“Setting higher efficiency standards for cooling is one of the easiest steps
governments can take to reduce the need for new power plants, and allow
them at the same time to cut emissions and reduce costs,” said Dr Birol.

“The Future of Cooling” is the second IEA report that focuses on “blind
spots” of the global energy system, following the “The Future of Trucks,”
which was released in July 2017. The next one in this series – “The Future
of Petro-Chemicals” – will examine ways to build a more sustainable
petrochemical industry. It will be released in September.