Refrigeration load is the amount of heat that needs to be removed to maintain a desired temperature in a space. It depends on factors such as volume, insulation, and the items inside. Modern refrigerators use liquid ammonia. The refrigeration load is calculated to design an efficient refrigerator or air conditioning unit for a space. Climate, humidity, air movement, and the number of people and electronic devices also affect the load.
The rate at which heat must be removed from a refrigerated space to maintain a desired temperature is known as the refrigeration load. It depends on several factors, including the volume of the space to be cooled and the quantity and base temperature of the items inside. This number may also be referred to as the cooling load or heating load.
Refrigeration technology, or artificial cooling, is common in most modern homes. Most kitchens have refrigerators for food storage. Many homes and businesses also have central air conditioning units or in-window air conditioning units.
It is a fundamental law of physics that heat turns into cold, which means that a hot object will attempt to heat everything around it. For example, when you put ice cubes in a glass of hot water, the water in the glass doesn’t turn into ice; instead, the ice in the glass melts. This happens because the molecules in the water want to reach equilibrium with the molecules in the ice. The water heats the ice until everything in the glass is almost uniform in temperature.
Because of this physical law, refrigerating a space requires a continuous supply of cold air. In the past, refrigerators used ice as a cooling source. Modern refrigerators use evaporating liquid, usually liquid ammonia. Whatever the cold source, the problem is the same: how much heat must be removed to keep the space cool enough to keep the food inside.
The refrigeration load must be calculated to design an efficient refrigerator. The refrigeration load varies depending on the amount of food in the refrigerator and whether the food was hot or already cold when it was placed inside. The insulation will also affect the refrigeration load. Without insulation, the external heat will act on the internal space, trying to achieve equilibrium.
Refrigeration load is often calculated to decide the size and type of air conditioning unit needed for a space where people will work or live. In this case, all the heat exchanged through walls, floors and windows must be considered. Climate will also play a role because humidity and air movement can affect temperature. The number of people expected to live and work in the room also needs to be estimated because living bodies produce heat. Large electronic devices such as computers, washing machines and televisions also produce heat and should be taken into consideration when calculating refrigeration load.
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