The effect of solar radiation on the energy consumption of refrigerated container

Abstract

Refrigerated containers are a special type of cargo container, equipped with an integral refrigeration unit. External power supply is required to run the refrigeration system to control the temperatures inside the container during transporting perishable goods. The amount of power consumption of Refrigerated container will change depending on many external variables. This paper provides an investigation of the effect of solar radiation on the energy consumption of Refrigerated container through experimentation. 40 ft high cube Refrigerated container is employed as a measurement object. Environmental parameters have been collected, i.e., solar radiation, surface temperature, and air temperature. Data analysis shows that the direct effect of solar radiation on the container surface causes the temperature penetration of the container wall and increases the amount of energy consumption. With the maximum solar radiation of about 700 W/m2 causes the surface temperature to reach up to 35 °C, and the maximum power consumption reaches 7.5 kW/h during the noon. Keywords: Refrigerated container, Energy consumption, Solar radiation, Environmental parameters, Temperature penetration