Abstract :

A multifunctional refrigerator for heating and cooling of food has been designed, tested and presented in this work. It is a more viable alternative means of keeping food warmth before consumption rather than using the conventional microwave oven. The waste energy from the refrigerator is harnessed and routed to a heating chamber where it is used to heat up processed food materials. The system was built using stainless steel sheets, fibres, and a small fan as well as the compressor, evaporator and expansion valves of a conventional vapour absorption refrigeration system. It has both refrigerating and heating compartments. The topping heating compartment receives heat from the condenser through air circulated in a tube around it. Series of tests were carried out on the system to monitor the temperatures of both the heating and cooling chambers. Results obtained show that the system, apart from performing its function as a refrigerator, can also be used as an alternative to the conventional Microwave Oven as temperatures as high as 60°C was achieved in the heating compartment and as low as 14°C in the cooling compartment. Also, the COP of the system is improved by about 6.5%.