Method and apparatus for predicting power consumption of refrigerator having defrosting heater
First Claim
1. A power consumption prediction method for a refrigerator having a compressor, an evaporator and a defrosting heater for removing frost built up on the evaporator, the power consumption prediction method comprising the steps of:
- setting a defrosting timer cycle expressed as a cumulative value of an operation time of the compressor;
enabling the defrosting heater to operate to perform forced defrosting, and measuring a defrosting time and a defrosting energy;
performing a cooling cycle including a pause and an operation of the compressor several times, and measuring the pause time and the operation time of the compressor and the energy consumed during the pause time and the operation time of the compressor;
estimating a unit run cycle of the refrigerator corresponding to the defrosting timer cycle based on the defrosting time, the pause time and the operation time; and
estimating the energy consumed during a predetermined time.
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Abstract
A power consumption prediction method and apparatus for a refrigerator having a defrosting heater is provided. In the power consumption prediction method, a defrosting timer cycle expressed as a cumulative value of an operation time of a compressor is set. The defrosting heater is activated to perform forced defrosting. The compressor is activated so that cooling cycles are completed several times. A defrosting time, a pause time and an operation time of the compressor and the energy consumed during each time are respectively detected. Based on the detected results, a unit run cycle of the refrigerator corresponding to the defrosting timer cycle is estimated. The energy consumption for a predetermined interval of time is estimated. Accordingly, the test time for power consumption prediction for the refrigerator can be shortened.
64 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A power consumption prediction method for a refrigerator having a compressor, an evaporator and a defrosting heater for removing frost built up on the evaporator, the power consumption prediction method comprising the steps of:
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setting a defrosting timer cycle expressed as a cumulative value of an operation time of the compressor; enabling the defrosting heater to operate to perform forced defrosting, and measuring a defrosting time and a defrosting energy; performing a cooling cycle including a pause and an operation of the compressor several times, and measuring the pause time and the operation time of the compressor and the energy consumed during the pause time and the operation time of the compressor; estimating a unit run cycle of the refrigerator corresponding to the defrosting timer cycle based on the defrosting time, the pause time and the operation time; and estimating the energy consumed during a predetermined time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A power consumption prediction apparatus for a refrigerator having a compressor, an evaporator and a defrosting heater for removing a layer of frost in the evaporator in which a defrosting timer cycle expressed as a cumulative value of the operation time of the compressor is set in the refrigerator, the power consumption prediction apparatus comprising:
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a controller for controlling the defrosting heater to operate to perform forced defrosting and the compressor to perform a cooling cycle including pause and operation several times; a time detector for detecting a defrosting time of the defrosting heater and the pause and operation times of the compressor; an energy measuring unit for measuring each energy consumed for the defrosting time, the pause time, and operation time; and an energy consumption calculator for estimating a unit run cycle of the refrigerator corresponding to the defrosting timer cycle based on the detected defrosting time, pause time and operation time, and estimating the energy consumed for a predetermined time. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification