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What I want is a silent refrigerator, will this bring that? pray
by Tistron 1y ago
What I want is a silent refrigerator, will this bring that? pray
- userbinator 1y agoAbsorption refrigerators have been around for approximately a century, are silent, and a little more efficient than peltiers.
- akvadrako 1y agoI used one for a couple years as my primary fridge. It was expensive, like $2k, didn't have very good temperature control and broke after 2 years and couldn't be repaired.
- marcosdumay 1y agoSo... A little better than Peltier cooling in every other dimension too.
- bob1029 1y agoI've been thinking about what it would look like to convert my GE fridge into a minisplit (i.e., move the compressor, condensing coil & fan outside). You can buy R600a on Amazon right now. One $60 can will charge the system ~5 times.
- toomuchtodo 1y agohttps://patents.google.com/patent/US20120192586A1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US20120192586A1/en (abandoned)
- userbinator 1y agoThat would've been easily invalidated by prior art from nearly a century ago; as I mentioned in a sibling comment, this was a common arrangement in the early days of domestic refrigeration. Here's a video from someone who managed to salvage some of the components of such a system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1tXIYl20jA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1tXIYl20jA
- theluketaylor 1y agoWith home HVAC, fridges, water heaters, and dryers all using now able to use of dependent on heat pumps I wonder how long it be before we see modular appliances that connect to coolant lines where the temperature differential is supplied by a central high efficiency heat pump. Cars already have heat scavenging that can move heat from where it's being created through losses to places where it's valuable, like the cabin or battery pre-heating. Especially in cold climates it feels like homes should be next.
- tasty_freeze 1y agoThat is an interesting thought, but I assume that the working ranges of the different appliances are different so there would be some complexities and inefficiencies getting them all connected to a common circulation loop. If there was a thermal equivalent of a transformer used for alternating current, that would be amazing.
- theluketaylor 1y agoAs far as I know all the common commercially available heat pump appliances all use the same refrigerants, so it doesn't seem like it would be that challenging. In cars that have unified heat management the refrigerant cycle is handled as a separate element, with a manifold controlling individual coolant loops to each component. I'm picturing something similar for the home, with a coolant moving heat to and from each appliance using standardized communication to the manifold. There would probably need to be heat buffer tanks, but air to water heat pump systems for radiant heat already need this anyway.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- briHass 1y agoThere's some commercial options for this, but it's not common. Usually, these devices just have their own compressors, because they all pale in comparison to the heat pump(s) used for climate control. For example, I have a HP water heater, and its heat pump is about 1/3 of a ton, whereas most homes need 3+ tons for climate control. Fridges are a fraction of that. For HP clothes dryers, there's no efficiency to steal from somewhere else, because they use both the hot and cold coils - similar to (the same, really) dehumidifiers. The tradeoff would also be running high-pressure refrigerant lines everywhere. That would require EPA certification (in the US, anyway) to connect/disconnect an appliance, and it would probably be less reliable. These sealed-system units are generally pretty reliable, because the refrigerant is installed at the factory under ideal conditions, and there's no connections that are made later that may be done poorly.
- userbinator 1y agoIt's worth noting that the very earliest electric refrigerators had a separate condensing unit outside; see this interesting 1920s Frigidaire training video for an example of what that was like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-t7DqOAMME https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-t7DqOAMME There were also centralised systems for apartments where one condensing unit supplied many evaporators in the refrigerator in each suite.
- NuclearPM 1y agoWhy?
- iLoveOncall 1y agoNot OP but it's a massive nuisance if you live in a studio. People don't realize how noisy a fridge is until there's one in the room that they sleep in.
- storus 1y agoJust today I ordered a 32dB Liebherr; the previous one had 35dB and could be heard all around the studio (I measured the noise using a dedicated sound meter).
- tormeh 1y agoSkill issue on the manufacturer's part. I live in a studio and never hear the fridge. This is part of a fitted kitchen, though, but I doubt the panel hiding the fridge makes that big of a difference.
- majormajor 1y agoNew appliances are far better than old ones here. Especially old ones that (I assume) haven't been maintained and so are working far harder than they used to. I've lived in places with old ones that were fine and old ones that were awful, both. I've had much more consistently good results in places with newer ones.
- esseph 1y agoYou can hear your refrigerator???
- bob1029 1y agoThe latest wave of appliances is really fucking loud for some reason. I think they're using different kinds of motor windings, bearings, insulation, etc. it's not related to the refrigerant or other system parameters. I've had older r600a fridges that were dead silent compared to anything sitting in a Best Buy showroom right now.
- userbinator 1y agoLikely high speed compressors --- the oldest hermetic systems used an induction motor running at 1800 RPM, then later they went to 3600 RPM, and now they're running on a VFD that possibly goes much faster. By making it pump faster, they can use a smaller compressor and reduce costs, at the expense of longevity and noise.
- esseph 1y agoEw.
- madaxe_again 1y agoThey use lighter lubricant oils than were historically used, which allows more vibration. It’s also why compressors burn out far more quickly than they used to.
- userbinator 1y agoThat too. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32462954 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32462954
- frosted-flakes 1y agoYou can't? Refrigerators have always made a noticeable background noise as they cycle on and off. The advantage of the newer variable speed scroll compressors in some high end fridges is that they can run continuously at a slower speed.
- elzbardico 1y agoMove it outside a cabinet, let it free stand. I found out that my nice kitchen niche for the refrigerator acted like a nice resonance chamber for the frequencies the compressor generated. I can barely hear it now.
- Sharlin 1y agoIf the cabinet is poorly designed (or ventilation is otherwise obstructed), it will also retain heat, making the fridge have to work harder.
- athenot 1y agoMy wine fridge uses Peltier and is super quiet. It's the perfect application for this because wine doesn't need to be as cold as a normal fridge, and noise is a consideration. It's not completely silent though, there's a small PC-like fan but it's way less loud than a compressor.
- SchemaLoad 1y agoYou might be able to swap that fan out for a higher quality one like a noctua.
- athenot 1y agooh thanks for the tip! I'll look into it.
- refurb 1y agoThey already exist! Well, small ones. A hotel I was staying at had a small bar fridge that used a Peltier. I only know because it stopped working so I checked it and realized it was only a Peltier plus a heat exchanged (a cyclopropane loop). I presume a full size fridge is outside of reach at this point.
- veunes 1y agoPeltier modules have no moving parts, so they're inherently silent
- amelius 1y agoSimplest solution would be to have a compressor that is only active e.g. during the day (when the user is not at home).
- SketchySeaBeast 1y agoBut the user doesn't open the door when they aren't at home.
- amelius 1y agoThere will be greater fluctuations of temperature but that doesn't need to be a problem.