Analysis of Refrigeration Units in Off Grid PV/Wind Hybrid Systems on Tribal Land

Technical Report · Mon Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1481512· OSTI ID:1481512

Chief, Manuelito ^[1]; Martino, Anthony ^[2]; Begay, Sandra ^[2]

---

1. Univ. of Denver, CO (United States)
2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

This paper looks at the performance of residential refrigeration units in off-grid photovoltaic and small wind hybrid (PV/wind) systems with battery storage. Off grid hybrid power systems, dispatched by Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA), allow Navajo Nation residents in rural areas to have the benefits of electricity. On the Navajo Nation, the rural and rugged nature of the land results in a high capital cost to connecting a house to the grid. In this case, a hybrid PV/wind power generation system may be used at a much lower cost to the customer. In providing affordable power systems to customers, the systems are designed to provide adequate power for use. This requires a constant conservative use of electricity. For systems with refrigerators which are large alternating current (AC) loads, there are performance issues that arise. NTUA reports that new energy star rated refrigerators have performance issues in working with these off grid systems. This paper looks at ways to improve the performance of these systems with the use of a refrigeration unit. This involves looking at conventional refrigerators with its operation. This paper also looks at alternative methods of refrigeration. Also, the power system is looked at to increase the performance in maintaining a proper balance of the system. Lastly, solutions will be recommended to solve the refrigeration issues faced by NTUA.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1481512
• Report Number(s): SAND--2018-12534R; 668788
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
17 WIND ENERGY
25 ENERGY STORAGE
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION