EXERGY ANALYSIS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF A VARIABLE REFRIGERANT FLOW (VRF) AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

Commercial multiple evaporators variable refrigerant flow (VRF) HVAC systems present many advantages such as being energy saving and the capability of adjusting refrigerant mass flow rate according to the change of high rises occurrence. This paper deals with an experimental control volume exergy analysis in a VRF air conditioning system. The experimental results show that the brunt of the total exergy destroyed in the whole system occurs in the outdoor unit, where the exergy destroyed in the condenser is more important. The values of coefficient of performance (COP) obtained for the tests increase as the system reaches operational conditions imposed in every indoor unit zone. The VRF system analyzed is highly sensitive to the action of the constant speed compressor. The use of an inverter compressor improves the system performance by adjusting the power consumption according to the cooling load in the evaporators.